Jackson Brothers
by Yami Tensei
Summary: (AU. OC-centric. And a lot of OCs) Percy has a protective older brother. A wrench that was thrown into the Fates' plans, altering it at every turn. He's not the strongest or the smartest, but he's willing to dabble in the illegal and the unethical if it means protecting his brother. And stress himself to death. After all, isn't that what older brothers are for?
1. The Brightest Star

~0~

_The Brightest Star_

~0~

A boy looked outside his bedroom window, right at the night sky, trying to find the thing he was searching for. He had no idea how it looked like, and he had no idea if it would appear tonight, but he kept searching anyway.

Thankfully for him, the sky was clear at that time. It was pretty weird, because he was sure the people around had ruined most of the nature there with pollution, himself included. Maybe he had luck that one particular night, who knows.

Glancing back at the clock that kept ticking, he was a bit worried when he found out it was already nine. He should've fallen asleep at least an hour ago. His mom could go in here at any second and ground him if she found out he stayed awake after bedtime.

But he couldn't sleep. Not now, especially after he found out his namesake.

Squinting his eyes, seeing through the telescope he got for his birthday, glaring at the sky, he tried so hard finding it. He tried all things he knew to spot something in the far distance. But he didn't find it. None of the stars even _slightly _resembled a lion. Everything was just random specks of white light, which, yeah, _was_ beautiful, but he wasn't risking being grounded just to see the beauty of the night.

He sighed and dropped his telescope to his bed. What a waste of time.

He was a bit proud though, when mom told him his namesake. He got a bit jealous that his little brother was named after a famous Greek hero, but then he found out he was named after a star.

At first, he thought his name was just some random name that ended with an '-us.' Because, let's face it, names that ended with an '-us' are pretty cool. Mom's name, Sally Jackson. Add an '-us' and it'd be Sallyus or Sallus Jackson. His little brother's name was already Perseus, so it didn't count. Even normal items sounded pretty cool with an '-us.' Macaronius, forkus, spoonus. It just sounded like the name of a wizard.

He smiled when a mental image entered his head- an old man wearing wizardly robes while carrying a staff that had a gigantic macaroni on top, screaming, 'You are no match for Macaronius the Wise!'

Heh, Spoonus the Great and Forkus the Powerful, each armed with deadly enchanted cutlery.

He sighed. God, maybe he _really_ should be asleep right now.

He just dug under the covers after setting his telescope aside to his nightstand, then glanced at the said item.

A gift from mom. He had no idea why his mother would give him a telescope, but he guessed that she decided to buy him that for his eight birthday after he was caught red-handed staring through a glass bottle to the night sky one night after she bid him goodnight. As you may have guessed, he was grounded. Come to think of it, mom probably knew he wasn't asleep yet tonight. Great.

He sighed again and forced himself to sleep. And now he wasn't sleepy at all. Fantastic.

He closed his eyes again and tried doing that thing in the movies- where the character would count imaginary jumping sheep. But he didn't want to use sheep, because, after all, sheep are boring. Dragons- _armored_ dragons are way cooler.

Grinning a bit, he closed his eyes and counted as the imaginary armored dragons flew past a magical ring. It was working, but then he heard his door opening, and a poor dragon hit the ring, making all the other dragons behind him to hit it too, and everything was engulfed in a fiery explosion.

Man, mom messed up his dragons. That aside, he kept his eyes clenched shut and tried to minimize movement. Mom would just probably kiss his forehead or the top of his head or she'd just stand there staring at him, before she would finally leave.

The thought of this being his mother was dismissed when something- or some_one_ crawled to his bed and burrowed under the covers with him. And then two short arms snaked around his neck. He heard short, heavy breathing with slight sobs mixed in.

That already set off an alarm in his head. But not the _kick-and-scream-like-a-banshee _type of alarm, but the overprotective older brother type.

He turned around and put his own arms around his little brother's body. One behind his back while the other behind his head. He knew what must be done when it comes to his brother. This usually meant his brother had a nightmare, because he always went to him when he had nightmares instead of going to mom.

Still, he couldn't be jumping to conclusions.

"Percy," he muttered his younger brother's name softly, stroking the back of his head. "What's wrong? You had a nightmare?"

Percy didn't say anything. His little brother just looked up at him, lips trembling, sea-green eyes shining with tears, his hands holding a fistful of T-shirt. Percy looked so cute and sorrowful he was torn between hugging him or taking a picture.

He chose the former, obviously. He pulled Percy closer, letting his little brother let out the last sobs to his T-shirt, not caring in the slightest that it was probably going to be wet. He put a kiss on the top of Percy's head, greatly decreasing the cries. Percy wasn't going to speak anytime soon, but seeing his reaction, then yes, he definitely had a nightmare.

"...Percy, do you want to talk about it?" he asked gently, holding him close. Good, Percy wasn't crying anymore. He _hated_ seeing Percy cry.

Well, Percy wasn't crying anymore, that was a relief, but he was now either asleep or just didn't want to talk. If he didn't want to talk, it was his decision. If he was asleep, then good. Percy didn't say or do anything, but his breathing was now significantly calmer. He wasn't shaking like before too.

He sighed and positioned both of them so they would be more comfortable. He was about to hum some random tune, but decided that the silence was much more appreciated. Besides, if Percy had already fallen asleep, what good it would be?

Right before he closed his eyes and called it a night, Percy suddenly whispered, "It was scary."

He glanced down at his little brother. Percy wasn't looking at him, but instead looking out the window (it was an admittedly big window), staring at the starry sky. He looked sad and afraid.

"What was, Percy?" he whispered back, rubbing circles on Percy's back. The frown on Percy's face disappeared, though he still looked troubled.

"In my dream," Percy mumbled, voice cracking and eyes looking misty. "Everything was on fire. People were... running around. There were these weird lights. There were-" he choked, eyes welling up with tears. "There were some people... they just- they were just sleeping on the ground. Even when people around them were screaming and running, th-they were just sleeping. I-It was..."

When Percy started crying again, he put another kiss on Percy's forehead. He didn't know what Percy was seeing in his dream exactly, but he knew one thing. Percy's dream was messed up. And those sleeping people? They were probably dead.

"Don't be scared, Percy. Don't be scared," he whispered reassuringly, giving a somewhat calming smile. "It was just a dream. Nothing's gonna happen to you."

"Y-you don't get it!" Percy cried, now looking at him. "It was at your school, and you were there too, Ray! Y-you were... you were... on the ground too..."

Ah, Ray. Percy called him that. He didn't mind it, like how Percy didn't mind being called 'Percy' even though his real name is 'Perseus'.

But back to the point.

Percy dreamed of him _dying_? Seriously, what was going _on _with his brother's mind? That was too dark and morbid for a four-year-old. Nevermind the fact that weird things happened to them almost twenty-four-seven, it was still pretty weird. Even by their standards.

"Don't worry about it, Percy." Ray smiled at his little brother. The fact that Percy dreamed about him _dying _was certainly worrying, but not like Percy should worry about things like that now. "I'm here, and I'm fine. It was just a dream. It won't happen."

Percy stared at him for a few seconds, like he was searching for a some sort of assurance that his older brother's school won't explode and get said brother killed in the process. Seemingly found what he was searching for, Percy buried his face in Ray's chest once more.

"Y-yeah..." Percy's voice was small, and laced with tiredness. "It was... just a dream... yeah..."

Despite himself, Ray couldn't keep the small smile off his face. "That's right. Good night, Percy."

"Good night..." Percy cut himself off with a yawn. "...Ray..."

As Percy fell to slumber, Ray kept thinking about his little brother's dream.

Oh, he knew he wasn't going to get even a wink of sleep tonight. Just perfect.

He glanced outside the window. He didn't know if it was his imagination or not, but he saw a small white light, a star, that was shining brighter than the rest, before it was covered by the clouds.

~0~

Sally smiled, peeking through Ray's bedroom door. She always adored her sons when they were together. Probably seeing that their father wasn't around, Percy looked up to Ray instead, and Ray cared a lot about Percy.

She was a bit confused when she heard Percy's door opening, but never saw him enter her room. Worried, she got off her bed and searched the small house they had, only to stumble upon that small yet heartwarming scene.

Her husband was right when he decided to name their first child Regulus. It sounded powerful and dignified. But there was another reason, too. Regulus in Latin means 'prince' or 'small king', but the true reason was another thing.

Sally smiled. Regulus Jackson, named after one of the brightest stars. She hoped that Ray would act as a guide to Percy whenever he's lost, and drive him to the right path. Just like a star would.

Granted, the star that usually guided travelers was the North Star, but you get the point.

Sighing softly, Sally closed the door with a quiet _click_, before she herself walked to her room.

~0~

A year full of yet another batch of strange phenomenons passed, and now Ray found himself walking to the school bus, waving at Percy and their mom as he did. A quick sum-up of things, mom ended up selling their old house because they needed money, and now they were living in an apartment in New York.

Ray never liked school. He didn't like it, and he doubted he will ever do. He had ADHD, and so he couldn't stay still. It posed a problem when most of the lessons there needed him to stay still. At least he didn't have dyslexia, so he can read well and good.

Entering the bus, he held back a sigh when all the kids looked away from him, chatting animatedly. He was used to being ignored, but that didn't mean he liked it. All kids, except one, who pointed to a seat beside him without averting his eyes from the book he was reading.

Ray walked over to him.

The kid didn't look up. "Morning, Jackson."

Ray sat down next to him, right beside the window. "Morning, Schneider."

Percival Schneider. A blond German-born kid who barely knew any German, due to his father insisting them living in England when he was little, and finally recently moving to America. Percival and him were the ones deemed as 'freaks' in school, so no one even bothered with their existences.

The first time they met, Ray saw Percival getting bullied by some of the older kids. Apparently, based on their logic, since Percival was born in Germany, that means he was a Nazi too, and therefore must be punished. Back then, he didn't step in. He just waited until the bullies took Percival's money and gave him a black eye before he finally dropped down from his hiding place- a tree- and greeted him.

Of course, Percival gave him a dirty look instead and limped away. To be honest, Ray was a bit disappointed. He didn't even get the "What the Hell is wrong with your eyes?!" reaction.

After the incident, something else happened, and they became friends afterward.

Ray put his chin on his hand on the window and glanced boredly at the book on Percival's lap.

"What's that?" he asked. He wasn't interested, nor was being polite. Boredom was just quite a curse for and ADHD kid like him.

"I don't think you want to actually know."

Ray laughed. "You know me so well."

When the first class started, he already droned out the rants of Mr. Nicoll, his English teacher. Mr. Nicoll rarely bothered with him, and the only time he _did spend_ the time to speak to him, it was only to yell at him for being so bad at English.

Ray would always reply with, "We're literally talking using English right now. Why do you think I'm bad at it?"

Just like he expected, he got chewed out for the next forty-five minutes.

The next lesson was math, and even if Ray was a normal kid without the weird ADHD tendencies, he seriously doubted he'd do well in this said lesson. He never liked numbers. At least, he memorized the basic multiplication table (how he managed was simply beyond him), and that already made his mother proud, so it was enough.

American history, science, blah blah blah. Ray hated school not just because of the lessons and teachers, oh no. Besides, some teachers and materials were bearable (Shout out to Mr. Brunner!). But the true reason he hated school was...

Bullies.

How dull, isn't it?

He was tired being called the 'Purple-eyed freak' that hanged out with the 'Nazi'. Tired of always seeing the carved harsh words on his desk. Tired of being pushed around. And since it was always the 'cool kids' that kept picking on him, the rest of the students think it was okay to do so too.

Ray didn't know what was worse, though. There were those who picked on him. And then, there were those who purposefully ignored him. Sometimes, he wished people picked on him instead.

It stung a lot when he called out to some kids he knew and they pretended they hadn't heard anything. Or he tried to bring his own input to his classmates when they were chatting, but instead, it fell on deaf ears. Students planned birthday parties and the such in front of him without even registering he was sitting right there, and he never received an invitation card.

So when he finally got out of school and returned back home, he never felt so relieved.

~0~

Sally didn't like to admit it, but they were low on money. So, for this reason, she always brought her youngest son with her to work whenever her oldest went to school. She just couldn't afford a babysitter, and she didn't really trust her neighbors with her four-year-old son. Don't get her wrong, they were nice people, but not exactly... right in the head.

Then again, as she walked out of a cab with Percy holding her hand in Grand Central, staring at the candy store she worked in, she sometimes wondered if any possible babysitter in the future is going to be trustable enough to be left with her son. After all, her sons could attract... _them_. And there's no saying if any of _them _won't disguise as a babysitter to get her sons.

Sally shook her head, and entered the shop. She didn't want to think about those things now. Right now, she had to work.

She smiled as her co-workers greeted her, before they greeted Percy too, though a bit more enthusiastically than to her. Percy just laughed at the attention. Sally was the oldest staff here. The others were either high school students or college students looking for money. Only one or two were adults, and the adult staff usually come and go.

On Sally's shift, she would let Percy play in the lounge, with one or more of her co-workers watching. She trusted them, at least. She would ask her boss to see her co-workers' background, and she would always assure her that the staffs she recruited weren't a threat to her children.

Sally honestly never expected that her boss was like her sons, though. She always kept a celestial bronze sword on a shelf in her desk, in case one of those things would attack the store. To the other co-workers, they just saw that their boss had a baseball bat in her desk. Sally always hoped that her sons would grow to be like her. To be able to grow into an adult and open a business. Every time she stared at her boss, she always saw a beacon of hope that her sons could survive into adulthood.

With the day passing by quickly, Sally was pleasantly surprised when the door opened with the soft sound of a bell, and saw her eldest child walking in, looking around the shelves of candies, fingers tapping the strap of his backpack rhythmically.

Ray smiled at her. "Hey, mom."

That caused a smile to grow on her own face. "Ray. Look who's early."

Her son shrugged. "The teachers sent us home early after the principal's office exploded."

Sally's smile dropped a bit. "Exploded?"

"Yeah, a gas leak. The principal wasn't there when it blew up, though."

"Thankfully." No doubt that would be in the news tonight. She hoped the cause wasn't something... not normal. "Dear..."

"Hm?"

"Your principal... what was his name again?"

Ray looked surprised. "You forgot? His name is Mr. Bandai or Mr. Banzai or something."

Sally was relieved. Ray didn't forget his principal's name (in a way), so that hopefully meant the cause was just that- a gas leak. Not some demonic beast that threatened to eat Ray's soul or something.

But she just _had_ to correct him. "Honey, his name is Mr. Bonsai, I think."

"Yeah, him." By his nonchalant voice, she didn't think he actually cared he got his principal's name wrong. "He wants to quit after this, though. Said he wanted to be transferred to some school called Merrywether Prep."

Sally nodded. She would search for another job too if her workplace suddenly exploded.

Ray looked around before he looked back up to her. "Mom, where's Percy?"

Sally smiled. Percy seemed to be the only priority in Ray's mind these years. "He's in the lounge. You should go play with him. We'll still be here for a while."

"Awesome. Can I have some candy?"

"No. I know you ate some at school."

Ray grinned. "How lame."

After her son left, her boss appeared in the doorway to her office.

Her boss, Kristen O'Brien, said that she's a daughter of Aphrodite. She admitted that children of Aphrodite weren't that much of a fighter, but Sally didn't think her boss was telling the truth. The proof was standing in front of her, after all- a healthy, twenty-two-year-old young woman that still knew how to use a sword.

"So that's him?" Kristen grinned. "He seems like a nice kid."

Sally smiled softly. "He is."

"If you don't mind me asking... why are his eyes like that? Don't get me wrong, I think it's nice," she added quickly after seeing Sally's look, "Just a bit unusual."

Sally lowered her eyes. Her oldest son's eyes... she honestly thinks that they are beautiful. A perfect shade of dark purple. The doctors never knew what is happening to Ray, either. They said that they think it was a some sort of mutation, but nothing more. The only thing they knew was that it wasn't dangerous.

The conversation- and she was not exaggerating- went _exactly_ like this.

Doctor : Ma'am, I have a good news and a bad news.

Sally : (worriedly) The good news first, please.

Doctor : We're naming a disease after your son.

Just like you might expect, Sally fainted. The next few hours after she came to, the doctor kept apologizing about the joke, and then assured her that the mutation didn't seem like a threat to her oldest son, but he also told her to bring him to the hospital if something odd happens to Ray's condition.

"I don't know, either," Sally admitted, "But what I _do _know is that it isn't hurting him. And that's enough for me."

Kristen nodded rapidly, not looking forward to saying anything wrong more than she should to the older woman, before she excused herself and retreated back to her office.

Sally sighed after she left, resting her chin on her arms on the counter.

~0~

Ray bit his lower lip to prevent from yelling out in surprise and pain as he set foot in the lounge.

The lounge wasn't that big, probably the size of the living room back in the apartment, but it was definitely made for being cozy. There was a mini kitchen, two rows of orange-colored couches at the corner, and a coffee table. A worker was snoring on one of the couches, a pillow covering his eyes.

And the carpet was covered with toys. Car toys, blocks, action figures, you name it. Scattered around like a tornado just hit the room. And, unfortunately, there were Lego blocks there too.

And Ray stepped on one.

Wincing, he lifted his foot again. Mouth turning into a grimace, he dropped his backpack to the floor and carefully tip-toed to the middle of the room, where his brother sat, humming something under his breath and shaking a some type of superhero action figure in his hands, as if they were dancing.

Ray suddenly stopped his advance. Looking around, he realized how messy this room actually was. If this was in their home, either himself or his mom would tidy it up, but now they were at their mom's workplace. Ray sighed and bent down, picking things up.

Percy, probably hearing the sigh, turned around. And then his eyes widened. He immediately stood up, grinning, and ran at his older brother. "Ray!"

Ray's eyes almost bulged out of his sockets. "Wait! Percy, don't run!"

Too late. Percy stepped on a Lego block (Ray winced in sympathy), and fell, yelping.

Ray, out of reflex, dropped all the toys in his hands and dashed at his brother. He threw himself to the floor and held out his hands, grunting as the various toys poked him in the ribs and stomach.

Percy clenched his eyes shut, most probably expecting pain, but his face twisted to surprise when he landed on something soft instead. Peeking through his eyelids, Percy saw the familiar dark purple eyes looking down worriedly at him.

Percy laughed and sat up. Ray breathed out in relief. Ray sat up, but then looked down as his brother plopped down on his lap, grinning at him.

Ray smiled back. "What's up, Percy?"

"Ray!" Percy exclaimed, eyes bright. "You're back early!"

"Yeah, school's out early. I thought you'd be here."

Percy beamed at him, and Ray smiled, ruffling Percy's hair. He looked around again. 'I should really clean the mess up,' he thought unamusedly. The toys weren't that many- they didn't have much money, after all- but more scattered, strewn out all over the place. Now sitting closer, he noticed some toys on the coffee table and the minibar.

Ray returned his gaze to his brother. Percy was staring at him, those wide sea-green eyes, full of innocence. Chuckling, Ray ruffled Percy's hair once more before lightly pushing him off, standing up.

The younger of the Jackson brothers sat on the carpet cross-legged, watching as his older brother picked up the blue bag where Percy usually dumped all of his toys. He then walked around the room, picking up all of the toys scattered around and putting it inside the bag.

Ray, noticing his stare, glanced at him. "What's wrong, Percy?"

Percy shook his head. "Nothing's wrong. I'm just happy you're here."

Ray smiled. He still remembered the day his mom, tired and disheveled, laid on the hospital bed.

~0~

His mom looked exhausted, but also incredibly excited. She turned around, revealing a small bundle in her arms.

"Ray," she called, smiling. "Look- this is your brother!"

As she said that, the little baby with the wrinkled face opened his eyes, revealing that adorable sea green gaze. His mother chuckled as the baby yawned, before he closed his eyes again.

"I want you to promise me, Ray," his mother spoke after the baby slept again. "Promise that you will be a good brother, and love him, protect him, guide him whenever I can't."

Even without telling him that, Ray already vowed in his head that he will do anything for his baby brother after Percy opened his eyes to look at him. He won't disappoint his family- not like his sorry excuse of a dad that left them all alone.

"Of course. I promise, mom."

~0~

Shaking his head, Ray continued to tidy the toys, reaching the spot he stepped on a Lego. He really hoped he hadn't done anything to disappoint his mom and brother, but he really doubted it. Right now, he absolutely had no friends (Percival and him... it was complicated. Sometimes he wanted to call Percival his best friend, and sometimes he wanted to bash the guy's face in,), was practically an idiot with all C's in his report, and he was pretty sure he was getting expelled these past years for keep talking back to teachers.

Ray sighed (again), putting the last toy in the bag. Something gained his attention when he felt a really slight pull from the bag. He looked down, and Percy blinked back at him, throwing the action figure he was playing with it.

"What're you thinking, Ray?" Percy asked, looking up at him.

Ray shook his head. "Nothing, Percy. Just remembering something."

Ray looked around once more, and to his relief, the room was toy-free. He looked back at Percy, but he was met with empty air as Percy already ran back to another bag (blue, of course) and pulled out some papers and crayons.

Ray dropped the blue bag beside his own backpack and walked over to him.

"Ray, look what I draw!" Percy said, grinning and puffing his chest proudly, handing him one of the papers.

Ray looked down at the drawing. There were some balloonmans on the paper. He referred it to balloonmans because their limbs were pretty thick, and... yeah, they were like built of balloons.

On the right, there was a taller balloon people, wearing what he guessed was the Sweet on America uniform, with long brown hair. On the left, was another balloon people, with the balloon man's head reaching to the right balloon man's hips, wearing all black. In the middle was the smallest balloon man, wearing all blue.

Ray glanced from the drawing to his clothes. He was indeed wearing black clothes. He then glanced at Percy. Yes, Percy was also wearing a small blue jacket. And then he remembered that mom was wearing her uniform.

On top of the three balloon people, there was a writing in blue crayon. Well, he guessed it was writing, but it was really some unrecognizable scribbles. Ray had to bit the inside of his cheek from laughing, and he felt a little bad for wanting to laugh.

Ray looked back at Percy, who was staring back expectantly.

"Well?" Percy asked, motioning the paper in Ray's hand. "What do you think?"

Ray grinned. "It's... nice." He then pointed to the scribbles on top of the drawing. "What does it say?"

Percy pouted. "Ray, can't you read? It says 'My Family'!"

Ray held back his smile. Of course. Why not? "...Ah."

Percy huffed and crossed his arms, but he looked pretty pleased with himself. He sat down and started drawing on another empty piece of paper. Ray chuckled and ruffled Percy's hair.

Returning his attention to the paper, he traced the edge of the white material with his thumb, silently pondering something. He wondered why he liked black. At first, he thought it was just a cool color. But then, when he started going to school, started to get bullied and ignored, he liked looking at the color black more. He wondered why.

A small jolt of pain shattered his thoughts. Looking down, he noticed that there was a long but shallow cut on his thumb, and blood was slowly dripping down to the carpet. Papercut. Great.

Percy, looking up from his drawing to see why his older brother was so silent, also caught sight of the bloody thumb. Percy's own blood slowly drained from his face.

"RAY!" Percy yelled in alarm, standing up.

"Huh?! What?!" the guy on the couch sat up, the pillow on his face dropping to the ground. But it was obvious he was still asleep. As fast as he sat up, the guy fell back to the couch and continued snoring.

Ray stared at him for a few seconds before returning to look at Percy. Percy's eyes were shiny with tears.

It reminded him when Percy went to him one night. He was searching for the star Regulus when Percy came, crying like he was just doing now, saying that he had a nightmare. He remembered it, because Percy rarely cried. Oh yeah, that was also the only time Percy dreamed of him getting killed. Almost forgot about that.

Ray sighed, and put his hand on Percy's head. The one without blood, of course.

"It's fine, Percy." Ray smiled down at his brother. "Just a papercut. I'll cover it up with a band-aid and be done with it."

Percy, obviously worried, just nodded. But Percy was looking down.

Ohh... Ray knew that look. That hurt look. Percy was feeling guilty. Oh no, Percy wasn't going to feel guilty because of Ray's own mistake in his watch.

"Hey, hey, hey." Ray knelt down beside Percy, setting the drawing aside. "Don't cry. Tell me what's wrong."

"I'm sorry," Percy mumbled quietly, still looking down. "Because of my drawing, your hand-"

Ray's eye twitched. "No, it wasn't your fault, Percy," he cut his baby brother off. "It's _my own_ fault. Don't apologize for things you don't have control of."

Percy looked up at him. After a few seconds of staring at each other, Percy finally nodded, but he still looked a bit somber.

Ray, shaking his head, stood up.

After Percy wasn't that upset- and when he meant wasn't as upset he meant Percy was scratching his crayons on a piece of paper with a frown on his face- Ray walked over to the sink in the tiny kitchen, then proceeded to wash his finger.

Ray furrowed his eyebrows. Sure, the cut was small, but he was pretty sure cuts weren't supposed to close immediately after touching water. He didn't even bother to reach the handsoap- in just a matter of seconds, the cut, now a little white line, slowly disappeared.

Ray waited, letting the water flow through his fingers. After a few seconds, nothing else happened. He was half-expecting another, tiny, hand to grow from his finger or something, but apparently it could only close cuts. Good to know.

Shrugging, Ray turned around and opening his mouth to speak, but the words died in his throat when he saw Percy, staring at something above his head, stunned and jaw slack.

Instantly, Ray also looked up. The thing he was supposed to stare at had already dissipated, but he could see the remains of something green, glowing, and see-through. He watched as the three-tipped spear- after watching The Little Mermaid (Ray disliked that movie, but Percy seemed to like it) he knew that it was called a trident- spun in the air slowly, before it finally disappeared.

_Thud_

The two brothers' head whipped around to the door, where their mom's boss, dropped her bag to the floor. Her eyes were wide, mouth open. But unlike Percy's whose eyes showed curiosity and awe, hers were filled with fear.

"Your father..." she whispered in dread. "Oh, this is _not _good."

Ray blinked. "My father?"

Instead of answering, the woman whirled around and ran, kicking the door open. The two boys shared a look, before they too followed. They stopped in the doorway and took a peek. In the shop, they saw the woman earlier was arguing with their mom. Their mom looked more and more worried and scared as the woman kept talking, frantically.

That was an obvious sign of bad news.

Their mom glanced at them, then bit her lip before talking back to her boss. The boss sighed deeply, and spoke again, but more softly this time. Their mom sighed too, then nodded. The boss nodded back and went to her office.

A few seconds of silence passed. Before the two boys could speak up, their mom cut them off, "Ray, Percy, get your bags. We're going home."

Ray glanced at the boss' door hesitantly. "But, mom-"

"Please, honey, quickly."

Ray could detect the hint of urgency in his mother's tone, so he immediately turned around and picked up the bags. Mom only spoke like that when those weird unexplainable things would happen. Once, they left a mall as their mom requested, and right before the mall disappeared out of sight, he saw a dog the size of a rhino walked into the lobby. Then there was another time when they went home from a space museum. Ray swore he saw a man that had ram horns.

Glancing at the couch, Ray grinned a bit. It was a bit funny to see that the guy was still asleep, undisturbed.

Back outside, the sky darkened, and water poured down. It was just a slight drizzle, but still, it made Ray shiver. On the curb, his mom was talking to a cab driver, and Percy was laughing giddily as the raindrops hit his outstretched hand from his position inside the taxi.

His mom turned around just the moment he reached them, glancing left and right as if making sure no one was nearby, then thanked him and took the bags, putting them inside the trunk.

When they drove back to their apartment, the cab was silent. Of course, save for Percy who was telling about his day to Ray excitedly.

~0~

Nothing happened on their ride home, but their mom kept glancing at the windshield worriedly, even though no other cars were on their tail for long. But the weirdest thing was that their mom kept asking to turn left or right on an intersection, or driving through alleyways instead of the road, like trying to shake something off. Because of that, it was already night when they arrived, so the two kids went to take a bath.

Two of them were silent during dinner. And they all felt the awkwardness. Percy knew this because he kept seeing his mom glance at him and his older brother several times. Ray ate much less than he usually did.

Percy hated it. They usually talk and laugh and just be happy at dinners. Not be quiet and frown and be _sad_.

Suddenly, mom cleared her throat, and Percy looked up, Ray following the same.

"So, Ray..." she began, trailing off. Mom was probably thinking of something to talk about. Percy knew _he_ was. "How was your day?"

Ray looked down on his meal before he spoke, "It was boring. Except if you ignore the fact that the principal's office exploded."

Then he looked up, raising an eyebrow, and gave his most 'Why are you doing this?' look. Percy would know. He kept having that look thrown at him several times whenever they were together.

"...Ah... right, of course." She looked at Percy instead. "How about you, Percy?"

Percy gave her a blank look. Did she forget that she took him with her or something? "Mom, I was with you the whole day."

Mom winced. "Oh... right. I forgot."

Percy and Ray looked at each other. Contrary to popular belief, even though they both have ADHD and the youngest had Dyslexia in the mix, they were anything but idiots. Failing through academic studies, maybe, but, often, they could always see through the lies of people.

Sometimes, when meeting new people, they would act like fools. Ray told him that he would do it to make them show their true colors (whatever that meant). But for Percy, it was just because it's fun.

As Percy looked into Ray's eyes, a message was passed between them. They needed to act dumb. For mom's sake.

Beside Percy, his older brother faked a sigh. The thing is, Ray sighs as much as he breathes, so it sounded real. "Mom, it's so boring here. When can we go to Montauk?"

Percy followed Ray's lead. He snapped his head up. "We're going to Montauk?! When?!"

Their mom snorted, and then laughed. Their mom's laughter is so soothing and warm, and before they knew it, Percy and Ray were smiling too.

"Okay, okay," mom said after she finished laughing. She smiled at the two of them, pondering for a brief moment. "How about... tomorrow?"

Percy's eyes widened. That Montauk thing was just an act to make mom smile. He didn't expect that it could lead to this! Besides, Montauk was where mom met dad, so he thought it wouldn't work this well, considering that their dad was nowhere around and all.

A grin broke out on Percy's face, and he started to victory dance in his seat. Looking at Ray, he saw that his older brother was shocked too, before his face turned to relief.

"How many nights?" Ray asked.

"I'm sorry." Mom smiled sadly. "But I think we'll just go for one night."

"Ha!" Ray grinned. "That's more than enough! Percy! High-five!"

Percy high-fived his brother wholeheartedly.

"Down-low!"

Percy moved his hand down quickly.

"Too slow!"

But not quick enough.

And just like that, the night was mostly spent on the table, filled with jokes, stories, and laughter. When it was time to sleep, they all walked to their own bedrooms with smiles on their faces, imagining what tomorrow would bring, momentarily forgetting their worries.

In their shared bedroom, Percy shared a fist bump with his older brother, both grinning at each other.

If that wasn't a mission well done, they don't know what is.

~0~

Olympus, the Eternal City, was shaking madly. Its denizens running around like headless chickens, trying to find cover and safety. Thunder crashed and lightning flashed, rain pouring down hard, wind howling and blowing down trees. The source of this chaos was inside the throne room of Olympus itself- a gigantic space where the great Greek gods of Olympus usually resides.

"HE HAS A _WHAT_?!"

The satyr gulped. "A-a son, my lord."

The King of the Gods, Zeus, the god of the sky, was seething, body shaking with rage. He clutched his Master Bolt tightly, making his knuckles turn white. Master Bolt, a devastating weapon that could turn cities to ash in just a blink of an eye, was crackling wildly, electricity striking everywhere nearby.

The satyr didn't dare take a step closer.

"How old is he?!" Zeus growled.

The satyr wanted to crawl away and cry. Working in Olympus is what makes you successful, they said. You'll love it there, they said. If it was possible, he wanted to travel back in time just before he accepted the transfer to Olympus and slap some sense into his younger self.

Plus the fact that he saw some very unlucky satyrs and other beings accidentally burned to ash because they stood a _wee _bit too close didn't give him much comfort either. He flinched when a thunderbolt struck the floor just a few inches from his hooves, and he took several steps back. Zeus didn't seem to notice.

"A-around ten years old, my lord," the satyr stammered.

He ducked with a yelp as a powerful gust of wind exploded, passing right over his head.

Zeus roared, and the satyr had enough knowledge to clench his eyes shut as the King of the Gods turned to his true form. "POSEIDON!"

After a few minutes of turning the floor around him to ash, he finally returned to his original form, Zeus turned to look at the throne beside him, and it added more fuel to the fire when he saw that it was empty. "You broke our Oath! Damn it all, when something happens you just disappear doing who-knows-what!"

The satyr shivered, and not just because of the cold wind that now assaulted his skin. Zeus' eyes were downright murderous when the god looked at him. He prayed with his heart that if he died today, he'd be reborn as a beautiful plant. Or at least a mighty tree. He didn't want to think that when he died he'd reborn into some grass. Worse, he'd get eaten by another satyr.

"Fine then!" Zeus hissed. The god stood up from his throne, his Master Bolt dissolving into the wind. "I will get rid of the boy... _myself_."

The satyr's neck snapped up so fast he was surprised it didn't break. "I-I beg your pardon?"

Zeus narrowed his eyes at the satyr. "Are you deaf, satyr? I said I am going to kill him."

"B-but-"

"But _what_?!" Zeus snarled.

The satyr gulped again. This went as well as he expected. "B-but don't you think it's a bit early to kill him? I mean, he's still a child, my lord."

"Exactly!" Zeus scoffed. "I am going to erase him when he's still... young and ignorant."

Zeus pointed his finger at the satyr, and he seriously thought that he was going to be zapped to oblivion. Instead, the god threatened, "No word to anyone about this, goat."

The satyr nodded hastily.

With that, Zeus disappeared in a flash of bright light, leaving the shaking satyr behind. After a few minutes of taking several deep breaths on the floor, he finally sat up.

Then he realized with dread that he forgot to report something else- the fact that there are actually _two _children of Poseidon. The other one was the kid he reported's younger brother.

The satyr started hyperventilating.


	2. When a Guy Tried To Kill You For Eating

Disclaimer : What I own... is none. My Original Characters, however, is a different story.

~0~

_When A Guy Tried Killing You For Eating One Chicken Too Many_

~0~

Ray stepped out of the shower, sighing. He really wasn't looking forward to another day of school. At least Percival was there, and he was about to learn Latin with Mr. Brunner so it was somewhat bearable.

As he walked around his room and pick up various clothing to wear for today, his mind wandered back to yesterday. He had no idea what happened, and he was starting to believe that it was all dream.

Ray looked down to his thumb. Yesterday, there was a cut there. It was shallow, sure, but it was pretty long. And then it just disappeared without a trace after he put it in water. Also there was that weird spear thing. A trident. What was that? Not to mention mom's boss. What was up with her, too?

He shook his head, picking up his black hoodie. He was going to override his brain in school today, and he was determined that he wasn't going to start from home.

Ray stopped mid-way from putting on his black hoodie. Oh yeah, they were about to go to Montauk after school. That thought recovered his mood, and he grinned the whole time while wearing his clothes.

~0~

In the small dining room, their mom was frying some bacons and eggs, humming softly to herself. Percy was on the table, munching a piece of toast caked with (Ray wasn't surprised) blueberry jam. None of them seemed to notice him yet, so Ray just took a seat beside his little brother.

Ray scanned the table. There were a few slices of toast, at least a dozen bacons, and a plate of scrambled eggs. He just wanted to eat a piece of bread. He wasn't hungry at all.

Ray looked up. "So... what do I get for breakfast?"

It was then Percy noticed who arrived. "Oh! Good morning, Ray!"

Ray ruffled Percy's hair. "Good morning to you too, Percy."

As Percy was busy trying to talk to Ray while eating at the same time (Ray had a hard time trying to keep a straight face), their mom turned around and put several bacon on Ray's plate, two slices of toast, and some scrambled eggs. She then ruffled their hair lovingly.

Ray stared at his plate, picking up his fork, trying hard not to sigh. He wasn't hungry, and he was definitely not famished. He just had to tough it out, then. Mom took her time to bother with him by cooking him breakfast, so the least he could do was eat it.

Ray just finished his first bacon stripe when mom poured milk into his glass. "So..." Mom drawled, sitting down and playing with her own food, still wearing her apron. "We'll be going to Montauk after you finished school."

Ray nodded, but he didn't say anything. By the way mom talked and acted, it was obvious that she had something in mind and that _something _probably something she didn't like. And by extension, there was a chance he wouldn't like it either.

"I've been thinking..." Their mom bit her lip. "And... after we go to Montauk, Ray... you'll..."

"Yes...?" Ray raised and eyebrow and took a sip from his milk.

"You'll be going... to a... summer camp."

Mom spent a minute trying to calm Ray down after he choked on his milk while Percy freaked out.

"What's with the sudden invitation?" Ray accused, face still red because the sudden loss of oxygen.

"Well, honey... I think you need to go to this summer camp," mom said softly.

"Why?"

"It's... it's complicated, Ray." Mom sighed. "It's for people like you."

"You mean _freaks_ like me?" Ray raised an eyebrow. "No offense, Percy."

"Look, honey... it's just for summer. I think that you-"

"Mom, I don't _care_ about whatever summer camp this is," Ray cut her off, "Just... why did you do something concerning me without even _asking me first_?"

Their mom bit her lip. Ray could tell from speaking to mom on a daily basis that she was trying (and failing) to coax him into this camp. To think she actually enlisted him without his own permission...

It was something small, sure, but she still did something behind Ray's back. He didn't like people betraying his trust. The first time he went to school, he tried his best to make friends. They all insulted him and humiliated him, just because his eyes were purple. Once, he had some people he actually considered friends, but then they revealed themselves that they were all just like the rest. Needless to say, he became more cautious around people. He knew that betrayal never comes from your enemies, but it still stung. And mom, of all people...

Ray shook his head, and quickly finished his breakfast. After that, he picked up his backpack, and smiled at Percy, ruffling his hair. He hoped that when Percy grew up more, he didn't experience the things that he had.

Without another word par from "I'll see you later, Percy," he left for the school bus.

~0~

Percy looked at his mom. "Mom, why are you crying?"

His mom wiped something from his cheek, watching his older brother entered the bus. "I... I think I just made a mistake."

Percy just nodded and continued to quietly eat his toast. He could see that something made Ray angry. Percy hoped that his brother's emotions weren't aimed at him. But he never heard of a kid being angry to their parent, either, just the other way around, so... he didn't really know.

"Mom," Percy called quietly, looking up. "Why do you want Ray to leave? Do you hate him? Please don't hate him..."

Percy couldn't help it. He started crying. He just couldn't stand at the thought of someone hating his brother. Ray was his best friend, his guardian, his hero, his idol. His older brother. The one that he could always turn to when mom wasn't around, the one that he could always talk to about those weird things happening around them, the one that would protect him when they were all alone.

Percy barely noticed, but mom stood up from her seat the moment he started crying. She took him in her arms, and Percy just latched on, sobbing to her shoulder.

"P-please don't h-hate him..." Percy hiccuped, still crying. "H-he's my big brother... p-please don't hate him..."

He didn't hear his mom's useless attempts to soothe him, didn't feel his mom's arms surrounding him in an embrace, didn't see that it was his mom hugging him.

So he had mistaken his mom's tears as his own.

~0~

The only thing Sally could think was :

She messed up.

She messed up _real_ bad.

She couldn't even stand with just one of her sons being angry at her. And she _definitely _couldn't stand both of her sons being angry, sad, and disappointed at her. She felt like she was being a failure of a mother.

So when Ray's eyes was painted with those three emotions at the same time, then Percy started crying believing that she hated Ray, she was... well, it was indescribable. She felt her heart being torn apart into pieces. She felt guilty, then angry at herself.

If she failed as a mother, then she'd do her damndest to make things right.

So after crying a bit with Percy, she pulled away. "Shh... Percy, don't cry. I don't hate your brother."

Percy looked up. He sniffled. "You-you don't?"

"Don't say something like that, Percy." Sally smiled sadly. "I could _never _hate any of you."

"T-then why you do want him t-to leave?" Percy hiccuped. It was like even _imagining_ Ray leaving sounded like the worst thing to him.

Honestly, Sally felt like it is. Her husband was unreachable, and she didn't dare imagining losing one of her boys.

"Oh, Percy. It's the opposite." She pressed her forehead to her youngest son's. "I don't _hate_ him, far from it. He has to leave for a while because I _love _him."

"W-why?"

"Because..." she trailed off. Now what should she tell him? "You... you'll find out when you're older. But just know, Percy, I will _never _hate your brother _nor_ you."

Percy sniffled once more, then nodded. Sally smiled tiredly, then ruffled his hair before returning to her seat. Now, she just needed to make amends with her oldest son.

Looking up again, she saw that Percy returned eating, though with far less enthusiasm then before.

"...Look, Percy..." Sally started hesitantly. She wasn't looking forward to making things worse. "How about we... pick up your brother after school?"

Percy lit up like a Christmas tree, all the signs of distress disappearing from his face, a grin breaking through his face. "REALLY?! Thanks mom!"

Sally let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. That was one of the easiest ways to make her sons happy again, but she didn't thought it would work. Once, Ray was sulking after he got a black eye from a fight in school. She offered him candy, and even ice cream, but he just refused. Then Ray brightened up considerably when he laid his eyes on his brother who was running at him.

After that Sally found put that she just had to make her boys see each other when they're upset, and they'd flip like a switch immediately.

Kinda makes her jealous. She wondered what it would feel if she had a sibling.

~0~

Despite the fact that his favourite teacher, Mr. Brunner, was standing in front of the class, in his full armored glory, Ray still gazed at the blackboard blankly. His mind was full of distractions. He thought about the things that happened yesterday, but unfortunately, none made sense.

The first thing that came to mind was that he was dreaming. Yes, he dismissed it immediately. He just dreamed last night. What, he was dreaming while dreaming or something?

The second thing was that some freak had drugged him with something, or he accidentally drugged himself. He didn't know what kind of medicine that could made hallucinations of him having Wolverine-ish abilities. Besides, not many people would go near him. He doubted anyone could inject him with some weird substance, and there is _absolutely_ _no_ _way_ he'd do drugs.

And then the third thing that came to mind was he ate something that was _not_ supposed to be eaten. He dismissed that too. He ate something expired once, and he almost spent an entire day of going back-and-forth to the bathroom. But no hallucinations.

Then what did it mean? Was it... real?

Before Ray could continue his probably awesome thoughts, a jolt snapped him out of it. Ray turned around and saw Percival giving him a cold look, his legs outstretched as if he just kicked Ray's seat.

"What were you thinking?" Percival raised an eyebrow accusingly. "Mr. Brunner is talking right now."

Ray winced. "Oh... yeah. Right. Sorry."

Bad move.

"Mr. Jackson, Mr. Schneider, you two want to tell the class something?" Mr. Brunner said.

Percival's glare to Ray became ten times colder. "No, sir."

Ray always forgot that Mr. Brunner's ears could hear anything. Just like an elephant.

Mr. Brunner's eyes were twinkling mischievously, so Ray knew that the old teacher didn't mean any harm. Well, at least, he knew that Mr. Brunner didn't _thought_ his actions brought any harm.

But seeing those kids at the corner, jeering at him, Ray was certain that he'd have to hide at recess later.

Ray sighed. "No, sir."

Mr. Brunner raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?" he looked at the blackboard, then his eyes lit up. "Mr. Jackson, can you tell me about this?"

Mr. Brunner pointed his sword (how awesome was that?) to the blackboard, or more specifically, to the word 'Protegonoi'.

Percival gave Ray a smug look. Easy enough.

Ray cleared his throat. "Well... Protegonoi, or Primordial Gods, are ancient deities said to rule the cosmos before the gods- even before the Titans themselves. It was said that they are powerful beings, and they can't be killed, like how Ouranos, the Primordial God of the Heavens was cut into a million pieces-"

Many girls made a disgusted sound.

"-And was still alive." Ray was getting worked up. "Also, according to Illiad, the Titan Oceanus was the source of the Greek deities, not the Primordial Gods, though Hesiod wrote that the first Primordial God was Chaos. Phere-something Syros said that the Primordial God of Time, Chronos-"

"While your knowledge-" Mr. Brunner cut him off, smiling. "-Is admirable, I didn't mean to confuse you. I was about to ask _this_."

Mr. Brunner pointed to the word 'Titan' on the blackboard, which was _directly_ beneath the word 'Protegonoi'.

Students burst out laughing. Someone even shouted "Nerd!" in the background.

Ray was sure his face was red.

"Settle down, class!" Mr. Brunner ordered. "I was serious. You should be more like Mr. Jackson in the future."

The students just snickered. Ray wished the Earth would just swallow him up and be done with it.

Mr. Brunner shook his head, then he smiled at Ray. "I would ask you if you know anything about the Titans, Ray, but I think we already know you know much."

As the students laughed once more, Ray wondered if Mr. Brunner teased him or that was actually a genuine compliment.

"Nevertheless, you acquired half credit for sharing your insight on the Primordial Gods, Mr. Jackson." Mr. Brunner told him. "Now then, class, write ten immortal beings you know and their description, then you can have an early break."

The whole class cheered, but Ray didn't have the heart to do it.

He did the work as fast as he can, then gave it to Mr. Brunner, before finally walking away quickly from the class. He didn't know if those laughter were his imagination or not, and he didn't want to know.

~0~

"How is it that you always find me?" Ray whined, slumping.

"You get predictable," Percival replied, sitting down next to him. "This is the only place where they won't bother you."

They sat on the bottom of a set of stairs, their lunches on their laps. A few feet away, the school janitor, Mr. Darren was mopping the floor. Mr. Darren had this sickness, Hyper... something, that made him look like a real life version of a werewolf.

Because of that, he was ostracized by most of the people at school. He said the only reason he got this job was because the previous principal, Mr. Bonsai, took pity on him, so Mr. Darren didn't know if he still had his job or was about to get fired, since Mr. Bonsai quit and all that.

That was why Ray liked to hang around him. Other than the fact that no student would approach Mr. Darren, he could sympathise with the guy. Ray was, after all, being shunned because of a reason he had no control of, just like him.

"Well it didn't stop you from bothering me," Ray muttered.

"No," Percival agreed. "So... how do you feel?"

"Don't tell me... you _care _about my well-being?"

Percival looked at Mr. Darren. "You know what? Just forget I ever said anything."

Ray chuckled. "I feel terrible."

"Understandable." Silence. "What were you thinking? It isn't often you would ignore Mr. Brunner."

"It was nothing. It was just something in my mind."

"Oh." Percival looked at him. "Family?"

"No. I was... wondering about my sanity."

Percival snorted. "Don't we all?"

Remember when he said that sometimes he wants to call Percival his best friend, while other times he wants to bash Percival's face in? Yeah. This was one of those moments.

Ray decided against bashing Percival's face in. He lacked the proper tools. "I saw some... weird things."

"Oh, really? Like what?" Ray wasn't sure, but Percival didn't sound sarcastic (shocking). He sounded... interested. Worried.

"Nah, it didn't make any sense, really." Ray sighed. "It was random."

"Humour me."

"To a guy that barely has any?" Ray raised an eyebrow. "I'll pass."

Percival sighed. "Please... do tell."

Ray sighed, then he took a deep breath. "Well... yesterday, there was this... I dunno, hologram? There was this... green hologram above my head just yesterday afternoon."

"...A... green hologram...?" Percival muttered. Ray could almost _see _those cogs working in his German friend.

"Yeah? What about it?" Ray took a gulp of his water. "I know. Stupid, right?"

"...Yes, it would. If not for the fact that I've seen one myself."

Ray spat out the water. Mr. Darren frowned at him.

Ray didn't see it. "Whoa, you've seen one too?! Great! That means I'm not going crazy!"

"Well... it could mean that we're _both _crazy. Besides, what did that owl meant?"

Ray gave Percival a blank look. "What owl?"

Percival returned an equally blank look back at him. "The green owl hologram. What else?"

And he said it in that condescending 'Duh' tone Ray hated. The _nerve_. "Owl? Mine was a trident. You know, that three-tipped-"

"I _know _what a trident is, Jackson," Percival cut him off, but he looked like something else was on his mind. "But... why a trident? Mine was a green owl. Odd."

The two went silent for a moment. Ray was a bit glad, though. He was just happy that he wasn't the only one to see weird stuff happening around here. And the fact that the other one was Percival, his best friend that he wanted to strangle most of the time, was just an added bonus.

Ray was about to say something, but then- "I have to apologize for my actions, Ray." A voice said guiltily. "What I said earlier... didn't make your peers feel better about you, did it?"

Ray looked up. Mr. Brunner, in his wheelchair, was approaching them.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Jackson, Mr. Schneider," Mr. Brunner greeted, if a bit somberly.

"Mr. Brunner," the two chorused.

"...Mr. Jackson." Mr. Brunner stared at Ray. He had this look in his eyes- a binding look that you just know he didn't want you to disobey. "I apologize for this, but please, take a walk with me. I wish to talk about something."

Ray glanced at Percival, but his best friend just shrugged.

"Sure."

~0~

The walk was silent. And awkward, but Ray was used to being ignored and thus producing silence, so he didn't really feel awkward. He could see the awkwardness getting to his teacher, though. Mr. Brunner kept opening and closing his mouth at random times, like he was searching for something to talk about.

Not like Ray expected any. It was no secret that Mr. Brunner was somewhat dense when it comes to social interaction with those younger than him (a student once told him tearfully that his grandpa died, and did you know what Mr. Brunner said? He was surprised at the sudden question, so without thinking, he literally said, awkwardly, "Yes... they do that.") so Ray just wanted to laugh instead.

Ray wondered why Mr. Brunner wanted to talk to him. Maybe he was about to be given the letter that he wasn't going back to Yancy next year? If he was, Ray wouldn't be surprised. His patience to his other teachers had already dwindled out, anyway, and he wanted to spend more time with his mom and Percy.

Now, if that _was _the case, what should he do? Hm... well... he could probably take dogs for a walk to work. Or probably sell newspaper. But those sounded so... _lame_. Possibilities were out there, why choose the easy ones?

Those thoughts were forcefully pushed out of his mind when he hit something hard. Rubbing his now throbbing forehead, he looked up, only to saw a man staring down on him, looking annoyed.

Did this guy was wearing metal under his clothes or something?

Looking closer, Ray noticed that this guy was HUGE- there were these big muscles bulging beneath his vest. This guy also looked like he had the same favourite colour as him- he was wearing black jeans, black combat boots, and a black leather jacket. Everything on him was black, and a few red mixed in.

The guy's eyes were covered in sunglasses. And he had this _huge _knife strapped to his thigh. He looked like a very, _very _violent biker, especially with those scars covering his face.

Mr. Brunner was sweating all of a sudden. "Ah! Lor- I mean, Mr. Superintendent! I thought we were going to talk in my office?"

What kind of _superintendent _was THIS?! Seriously, this guy looked like he enjoyed watching gore and blood. Ray would be far less surprised if Mr. Brunner said that this guy was a wrestler instead.

"Do not fret, Brunner. I will see this-" The huge guy said, then stopped himself. "I-I mean... don't worry... old man. I'll... uh... take... things from here."

Then the guy gave a (clearly) forced grin. He was sweating a bit, too.

Mr. Brunner gave him a funny stare, but then he shook his head, looking at Ray again. "I... I see. Well then, I'll leave you to it, superintendent."

Mr. Brunner turned around and left, but before he did, he whispered in such a quiet voice that Ray had to strain his ears to listen.

_I'm sorry, Regulus._

What the...?

The guy looked down at Ray after Mr. Brunner left. Ray himself had to crane his neck to look up at this behemoth of a man.

"Come, Ray Jackson. We shall-" the guy coughed to his fist awkwardly. "...I mean, we should speak in private... uh... dude."

Ray's eye twitched.

~0~

And another awkward silence engulfed the two of them as they traversed the halls. Ray had no idea if he should make a small talk or not (he didn't want to anger a guy that could break his neck in a second), and the occasional glare that guy gave him didn't help either.

What on _Earth_ did he do wrong?

And then they stopped. Ray looked up, and realized that they stopped in front of the cafetaria door. Unlike the usual times, he didn't hear any sounds coming from inside.

"Sir?" Ray asked. "Why are we... here? I thought we were going to speak _in private_?"

Superintendent grunted. "It's fine. No one's here."

Ray really doubted it. But he wasn't the one in charge, so what the heck. They stepped in.

And, sure enough, the cafetaria was empty except from them. Even the cafetaria lady that used to stand absolutely still behind the counter was absent.

It was odd, to say the least.

Ray walked ahead, then turned around to look at the guy. "So, what are-"

The guy was gone.

Eyes widening in surprise, Ray looked around, and the creepiness meter went past eleven when he saw the guy was already standing in the middle of the room, his back facing him.

Ray gulped. "Uh... sir?"

Superintendent turned his head and stared at him in a creepy way, his sunglasses seemed to be glowing a bit red.

Creepy, it was indeed.

And then the Superintendent suddenly asked. "...Who's your father, boy?"

That was unexpected. "I... I don't know?" Ray answered hesitantly. "I mean, he left when I was little, so I don't know who he is."

Superintendent nodded, like that was the correct answer he was searching for. "I see... what did your mother told you about your father?"

Instead of answering, Ray's eyes widened. "You know who he is?"

The guy gave a vicious sneer. "Just answer the question."

"Uh... she said that he's 'Lost at sea but not dead.'" Ray just shrugged helplessly. "I don't know what it means either."

Ray had no idea was going on.

The only thing he could think of was that he may or may not stole one extra fried chicken when he was really hungry in the cafetaria a few days ago. Or when he sneaked a stray kitten he found on the road inside his backpack so he could keep it as a pet (that cat was cute, okay?). Or that one time he broke a guy's nose because he kept trying to steal his money. Or...

...That was the only things he could come up with. He made a mental list of all the bad things he had done, but the list became so long, complicated, and confusing, so he gave up.

So Ray was surprised _and _not surprised when the Superintendent _threw_ a _freaking table _at him.

Ray ducked just the exact moment it sailed past his head. He snapped his neck up to see the superintendent pick up another table.

"W-what are you doing?!" Ray stammered, slowly inching to the exit. "Are you trying to _kill _me or something?!"

"Actually, _yes_, I am indeed-" Superintendent stopped, then thought of something else. "I mean, that's right, brat! I'm going to kill you! Because, you see..."

Superintendent dropped the table, and then he pulled out his hunting knife. It slowly morphed in his hand into a huge, two handed sword, with a skull as its hilt, and a ruby in its mouth.

It actually looked pretty cool when it wasn't pointed threateningly at Ray.

"...The problem is: you were born into this world."

Then all of a sudden, the sword morphed into an awesome-looking double-barrelled shot gun, and with a loud bang, the wall just a few inches from Ray's position was blown to bits. The weapon was thrown from the guy's hand, and for some reason, the hole where that shotgun bullet hit caught on fire, and the fire spread quickly, as if the entire concrete wall was nothing more than cloth.

Superintendent looked as surprised as Ray was.

"So this thing could do that?" the guy chuckled. Superintendent removed his sunglasses, revealing that his eyes weren't eyes at all- instead floating orbs of fire inside the eye sockets. "Die, seaspawn."

Ray already high-tailed out of there before the superintendent- who he was pretty sure wasn't the superintendent at all- finished his sentence, fire alarms blaring loudly as he did.

~0~

'_...This is boring.'_ Sally thought, watching the cars sped past the window in the shop. She chuckled when she realized that she sounded a lot like her eldest son last night. But the chuckle disappeared when she remembered what happened this morning. So she sighed.

It was a really slow day. The only customers were just little kids with their parents that occasionally came a few times a week, and that was it.

She barely paid attention when a couple of police cars sped past the shop, their sirens blaring loudly. She barely paid attention when pedestrians stopped walking and pointed to the sky. She also barely paid attention when her boss walked out of her office.

"Huh? What was that all about?" Kristen asked. "Cops?"

Kristen walked outside the shop. Sally checked her son in the lounge, who was more cheerful than this morning, and busy playing with toy cars, before she decided to follow her boss outside.

Outside, people were watching and pointing at something in the sky. Sally looked up, and noticed pitch black smoke billowing from somewhere in the city.

Sally felt like a bug was crawling on the back of her neck. She didn't know why, but she had this feeling in her gut that something was wrong.

"What's going on?" she asked no one in particular. A few minutes later, a fire truck went past, followed by an ambulance, all of their sirens screaming loudly. "Did a house caught on fire or something?"

She then realized that the police forces, fire fighters, and ambulances were all heading to that particular cloud of smoke.

She felt a small hand slipped into hers. Sally looked down, just when Percy was staring up at her.

"Mom?" Percy wrinkled his eyebrows. "What's going on?"

"I... don't know, Percy." Sally looked back up at the smoke. They all spent several minutes staring the smoke, when Sally's phone rang all of a sudden.

It was Mr. Brunner. If she remembered correctly, Mr. Brunner was Ray's Latin teacher.

The feeling in her stomach multiplied.

Sally picked up. "Uh... hello?"

"_Ms. Jackson?! I apologize for the sudden notice, but you have to come here!"_

"Mr. Brunner?" Sally asked worriedly at Brunner's frantic tone. Also at the fact that there was a background sound that sounded dangerously close to a scream. "What's wrong?"

"_The school! The school caught on fire! We're evacuating the children now, and we-!"_

The phone slipped from her hand and fell to the ground.

~0~

Mr. Brunner didn't say anything when he heard a 'Thud'. He just silently listened to the conversation on the other side of the phone.

"_Sally? Sally?! What's wrong?!" _A woman screamed.

"_Mom? Mom?!" _Ah. That must be... Percy.

Brunner sighed, and closed the call. He remembered how Ray always got excited when telling about his younger brother, Percy. He saw Percy once or twice whenever Sally visited the school, but even from just those instances he knew Percy was a good child, and loved his family very much.

And with that, Brunner realized that he would be breaking two hearts by doing this. His shoulder slumped, and he let out a more weary sigh. He brought up his wrinkled, and shaking, hands to his face.

He had made precautions, of course. No doubt the mortal law enforcements would be more than befuddled when they found out that no one in this fire and assault got hurt, par from some bruises the students acquired when they ran outside the building.

And they would be more than confused, though a bit relieved, when they found out that no one was killed in a fire.

Except one.

Brunner took a deep breath to calm himself down. Never, not even once, in his immortal life was he willing to do this.

A planned murder for a child.

Gods... he hoped the Fates would bring him the punishment he rightfully deserved for doing such an atrocity.

~0~

The guy's cackle, who Ray would dub as Lunatic from that point on, echoed through the burning halls as Ray ran. Bullets soared everywhere, but thankfully none of them hit him yet. Probably because the fact that Ray could hear Lunatic cursing profusely and kept yelling, "How does he _use_ this thing?!"

"Stop running, coward!" Lunatic roared after he picked up the shotgun for the dozenth time (it kept jumping from his hands whenever he shot). "Don't be afraid of death!"

"Any sane person would rather _live _than _die_!" Ray shouted back.

It was just pure luck that the floor Ray ran on was wet from a shot water tank, so he slipped when the window above him shattered. Burning glass shards (was that even possible?!) rained down on him, making small cuts on his skin.

He heard an enraged shout from Lunatic. Ray looked behind him, seeing the madman picking up the shotgun. He would say how much of an amateur the guy was, but then again, who was _he _to judge?

Lunatic, realizing he was being stared at, gritted his teeth. He pointed his hand, and a surge of thunder surged towards Ray.

Ray yelped and slipped down again. Suddenly, a some type of whip made of water rose from another puddle near him, hitting the thunder bolt head on. The electricity surged through the water and to the puddle instead of flying at him.

Ray had no idea what happened. But thank goodness that water's a conductor for electricity.

Lunatic saw his failure, and let out a more enraged roar. He picked up his gun. But then, the water tank near Ray exploded, gallons of water bursting at Lunatic in a surprising speed. Ray didn't know if it was his imagination or not, but the water almost shaped like a... fist.

Lunatic was thrown through a wall.

A sudden chilling thought arrived in Ray's head. Did he just... _killed _the guy?!

Then Lunatic roared underneath the rubble. A hand shot out from beneath it.

Oh. Ray felt something wet moving on his skin. Looking down, he realized (with relief that he didn't pee in his pants due to fear despite his heart that he was sure about to jump out of his chest) that the water moved up to his body, covering his cuts and bruises and other painful and annoying injuries. It healed him in the process.

It was weird. He was thankful of course, and that was kind of awesome, but that was still weird.

Then he heard another 'BANG!' and another window shattered. Lunatic's upper body had risen from the rubble, like a zombie rising from a grave or a mummy rising from a sarcophagus.

Lunatic was glaring at him, with those flaming balls of fury inside his empty eye sockets.

Welp.


	3. Even Thanatos Wants a Vacation

Disclaimer : If PJO were mine, I'd put at least _one _Bioshock or Dark Souls reference. Praise the sun, would you kindly?

~0~

_Even Thanatos Wants A Vacation_

~0~

Ray never ran this fast and this long before in his life. Adding the fact that he also had to run all zig-zaggy and stuff to not get crushed by falling debris or get shot by Lunatic, he was getting tired very quickly.

Ray mildly wondered something about the psychopath behind him. It was obvious that the guy never held a gun before in his life, so why the madman didn't just let the thing stay in a sword form and chase after Ray or just zap him with another lightning bolt and be done with it was beyond him.

As Ray kept running, he noticed that the halls were empty. It was odd, obviously. Maybe everyone ran away the moment they heard the sound of alarm and/or gunshots? Even though he felt relieved, he was a bit weirded out by the lack of corpses littering the hallways.

A pretty loud, resounding 'CRACK!' turned Ray's attention upwards, just when a huge chunk of the ceiling (burning too, of course) fell. And Ray was right beneath the thing.

Ray was already thinking, _'Oh, fiddlesticks.' _when he heard Lunatic letting out a roar all of a sudden. A strong gust of wind appeared out of nowhere and pushed the debris away from Ray.

Lunatic could control wind. _Why not_? Now Ray was just waiting the moment when Lunatic shoots laser beams out of his eyes... er, eye sockets? Flame eyes?

Nevertheless, Ray was about to thank the guy, but then he realized that the guy pushed it so it blocked the only exit.

Jerk.

Ray skidded to a halt and turned around to face the guy, who was grumbling something under his breath as he arrived at last.

"Finally!" Lunatic complained, stretching until a 'pop' was heard from his back. "Will you _now _accept your death?"

Ray clenched his fists, hoping that his shaking wasn't that visible to Lunatic. "What do you think?"

Lunatic shrugged. "I thought you would be crying and kneeling on the floor."

"Do I look like I'm crying and kneeling on the floor?"

Lunatic's mouth turned into a straight line. "Why won't you just accept the fact that you won't live to see another day?"

Lunatic was talking. Or... monologuing? Good either way. Ray hoped that he kept talking until he could search for a way to escape from the burning place. _Maybe_ Percival sensed something was wrong (if the burning building wasn't a clear indication) and got some help.

Ray was on his own for now. Hopefully.

"Because I don't want to die?" Ray asked back. Thank God his voice wasn't shaking like his limbs.

"Makes sense." Lunatic agreed. "But you're going to die anyway, no matter you want it or not."

"Look, just _why _are you trying to kill me?"

"Didn't I tell you? You were born into this world."

Ray gave him a blank look. "And _why _is that a bad thing?"

"_Why? _Because my broth-" Lunatic stopped himself. "I mean, my uncles and my fath- uh, my _old_ _man..._ made an oath. They swore to never have any more mort- children."

Ray's eyebrows furrowed. The way Lunatic kept stuttering was weird. "And where do I fit in?"

Lunatic gave him a steely look. "Your uncle- I mean, _my _uncle- GAH- is your father. He broke the oath. So you must die."

Ray looked surprised. This guy? This... beefy, crazy, gun-loving, Godzilla of a man was his cousin? Seriously, how old was he? Ray was just ten. This guy looked like he was in his mid-thirties. And mom looked like she was still pretty young too- come to think about it, mom looked _younger_ than this guy!

"Wait... so... this means you're my cousin," Ray said, buying more time.

Lunatic paused. "I... guess?"

"So... doesn't that mean you're not supposed to be born, too?"

Lunatic shrugged. "It doesn't apply to me."

"Why?"

"_Why_? Because I'm a go- I mean, because... I was born before that oath was made."

"And that makes you invincible to the effect of the oath?" Ray was very confused.

"Yes!" Lunatic snapped. "Stop asking any more questions! DIE!"

Lunatic aimed his demonic-looking double-barreled shotgun (Ray couldn't help but think... just how cool that thing looked) with one hand at Ray. But instead of shooting, Lunatic raised his free hand and opened his fist.

Blinding light filled the room.

The next thing Ray knew, he heard a huge 'BANG!' and then all he saw was blackness.

~0~

Sally gasped when she heard the explosion inside the building.

After Mr. Brunner told her about the burning school through the telephone, Kristen said she was having a some sort of panic attack. Then again, having children as demigods... she would be surprised if she didn't.

When Sally finally regained her senses, she realized that she was inside Kristen's car, on the backseat, with a worried, tear-stained Percy staring at her from the passenger seat. Kristen then told her that they were heading to Yancy.

Sally was truly lucky to have Kristen as her boss.

After arriving at the school, she heard the explosion. Children and adults alike were running around the area, crying and screaming, respectively. The school itself was engulfed in inferno. Firefighters and medics were busy rushing left and right, with police officers either asking the survivors about what happened there or rescuing students from inside the school.

Thankfully, she didn't see anyone got hurt too much, just some bruises here and there. But this event will surely made the children traumatized. But try as she might, she couldn't find her son. Mr. Brunner wasn't anywhere nearby, too.

"M-mom? What's going on? Where's Ray?" Percy asked, voice shaking. His sea-green eyes she always adored were filled with fear and confusion.

"I... I don't know, honey." Sally told him the truth. She had absolutely no idea what was going on. "Let's go. We have to find your brother."

Percy bit his lip and nodded. Kristen offered to search on the other side of the school, so they went their separate ways.

As Sally ran, holding Percy's hand as she did, screaming Ray's name, the feeling in her stomach came back with a vengeance.

She felt like crying. But she held strong.

~0~

Kristen trusted her demigod instincts. And they were telling her to go to whatever the Hell caused that explosion, so she followed through. One of her friends' son was in there, so she'd do whatever it takes to help him. Besides, she could see that Sally's a tough woman.

Anyone that could attract one of the Big Three themselves`had to be more than meets the eye, after all.

Kristen shuddered involuntarily as she entered the burning building. Poseidon himself... she didn't want to think what those kids had to endure as sons of one of the Big Three. She was a daughter of Aphrodite and even _she _would rather wish that she was born a mortal instead.

Kristen shook her head. She had a kid to save.

Using her bronze sword, Kristen broke down a burning door and walked in, covering her mouth instinctively with a handkerchief to prevent smoke from entering her lungs, how useless it might be. Granted, the smoke wasn't that bad, but better be safe than sorry.

The halls were red, and for a moment Kristen seriously thought with dread that the entire hall was coated with blood. Then she realized that it was just the fire.

Not... exactly more reassuring, but it was better than blood.

Windows were shattered, ceilings were crumbling, and the walls were torn down. Not to mention the heat... It was like a dragon suddenly got upset and wreak havoc in this school. She really wished she was exaggerating, but... yeah. Demigod life, man. It sucks.

Kristen strained her ears as she ran. The only thing she heard were just crackling flames and muffled screaming from outside. Oddly enough, no one was inside the buildings, and she didn't hear any screams from inside the building. Even though she was glad, oddity was an oddity.

"RAY!" she shouted at the top of her lungs, then covered her mouth with her handkerchief again. After a moment, she shouted again, "RAY JACKSON! SHOUT BACK IF YOU HEAR ME, KID!"

'_Yeah... this is stupid_,' she thought. _'I should've let the mortal firefighters deal with these sorts of things.'_

But now, here she was. Was it pride that guided her here? Pride that she thought she could save a young child from a burning building? Stupidity? Maybe. Heck, she barely even knew Sally's kid, so why was she here?

She turned around and before she exited the building, a scream stopped her from her track. The scream... it came from _inside _the building.

Kristen instantly turned around again and ran to the source of the scream, her bronze blade slicing through everything standing in her way, be it falling pieces of the ceiling or the fallen walls. That voice sounded... very familiar.

~0~

The only way Ray could describe the pain was... not that painful.

He heard the weapon being fired, and then felt the pain in his stomach. But it wasn't that painful- at least, not as painful as he expected. It was just like getting hit by something heavy, at a pretty slow speed.

Of course, the _initial_ impact wasn't as painful as he'd imagined.

But then... well, what followed... wasn't that painless.

It was unbelievably painful. Ray felt as if someone stabbed him with a huge, jagged, burning knife then twisted it around and around again. The smell of burnt flesh hit his nose, and the stomach part of his hoodie jacket felt sticky and warm.

Then, a some sort of liquid filled his mouth. But it entered from inside his throat. Something... weird. It smelled like metal.

God, it hurt. He remembered screaming until his throat was sore, but then it turned into a wet gurgle as more of that metallic liquid dripped down from his mouuth.

As Ray's vision returned, the pain multiplied several times when he finally lowered his eyes to the source of his pain.

His eyes widened.

His stomach...

Something rose from his throat, and Ray instinctively cupped his mouth as he coughed up more of that warm, metallic liquid. He looked at his hand, and was terrified to see it completely drowsed in red substance.

Blood?

Dimly, he realized he had fallen to his knees. Lunatic hummed as he observed the damage he had done to Ray's stomach the way you'd stare to an interesting animal at the zoo. Lunatic seemed unfazed by all the blood splashed around, by the school building that slowly crumbled around them, by the choked whimpers of the dying boy kneeling on the floor.

In fact, Lunatic seemed _amused_.

It was only then, in the first time ever in his life, Ray felt absolute fear. He wasn't just scared- he was terrified. He wanted to run away and hide, he wanted to lay down and cry, he wanted to scream and just end this suffering.

The nickname 'Lunatic' couldn't have been more correct.

"Interesting," Lunatic mused. "You're still alive. Why, I'm pretty sure all of your internal organs are ripped to shreds by now."

After his condition was put in words, Ray realized just how bad it was. He wanted to puke. But it disappeared as fast as it came, and he wouldn't be surprised if the bile flowed through the gaping hole in his stomach.

"I suppose I must fix that," Lunatic suddenly said, aiming the shotgun at Ray's face. "So... anything you want to confess before I pull the trigger?"

Ray choked in his own blood as he stared, fearfully, at the barrel of the weapon.

"No it is, then?" Lunatic asked. And then he shrugged. "Farewe-"

With a burst of golden liquid, something poked out of Lunatic's chest. It was bronze, and looked like a huge knife.

A sword?

Lunatic's face went from shock, then to an annoyed snarl as he turned around and swiped his shotgun to whoever (literally) backstabbed him. The attacker, a young woman, instantly pulled her sword again and jumped back, evading the gun and glared at the man.

She caught sight of Ray behind Lunatic and Ray could see the woman's face turned into a shade of green.

Of course, Ray was way more surprised at Lunatic more than anything. Other than the fact that the guy seemed to have golden blood of all things, he just got _backstabbed _and acted as if a mosquito just bit his back.

Who... who was this guy?

"Demigod..." Lunatic growled. "Leave us be. I have no business with you."

"There is now way in Hell I'm going to let you kill a kid," the woman retorted. "Just who the heck are you?"

The man paused for a moment, pondering that question himself, as if he forgot who he was. Then a somewhat guilty smile appeared on his face, and he aimed his shotgun to the woman.

"I'm Ares," the man said, "God of War."

As the woman's eyes widened, Lunatic- no, _Ares, _summoned another blinding light that engulfed the room.

~0~

On reflex, Kristen rolled out of the way after the light blinded her vision. Just like she expected, another gunshot was heard, and a wave of heat passed through the left side of her body. After successfully dodging the bullet, she kicked the floor and charged at Ares. The Olympian merely sidestepped her and landed a punch in her gut.

Ouch.

Okay... maybe she should've trained to make sure she wouldn't be rusty all these years. As the breath was knocked out of her, Ares turned around to face- who she really hoped wasn't- Ray.

Seriously... the little guy's stomach was... her face paled again when she remembered the sight. And to top it off, she felt more nauseous. She was far from a medic, but even she knew Sally's son wouldn't be able to survive such a wound. That was, if he didn't die from blood loss in the first place.

To prevent from puking in the face of a war god, Kristen stood up, albeit shakily, and charged again.

In a heartbeat, Ares' shotgun... melted (for a lack of a better term) and reformed into a gigantic sword with a ruby-eyed skull as its hilt. He swung the blade in a wide arc.

Kristen responded in kind. The impact shook her to the very bone, and just like that, she knew that she was overpowered. And since her skills with her sword had pretty much dwindled out all those years, she knew she was outmatched too.

Then the only thing left for her to use was her brain.

Kristen jumped back, readying her sword in a stance Chiron taught her, a lifetime ago. Ares' blows were powerful, yes- almost too powerful. She could use his own blade against him, and when he was stunned, she could pick up the kid and hightail out of there.

_Thud._

Said kid fell to the floor, face first. Blood pooled around him, and his black hoodie seemed to be darker. Kristen really hoped he was still breathing.

She grimaced. The kid wouldn't live to see another day, that was for sure. At the very least... at the very least, she could bring his body to his family.

And if the kid was indeed Sally's son... well, she would be more than happy to give the woman a whole week off and still give her pay.

"We both know you cannot defeat me, brat," Ares sneered, cutting her from her thoughts. "Stand down. I have no quar-...I have no business with you. And I really don't want to piss of your mom by killing you."

Kristen's eyes widened.

"Do you take me for- do you think I'm an idiot?" Ares' lips twitched upwards slightly. "I know you are a daughter of Aphrodite, punk."

Oh, she was shocked. Kristen was very shocked, alright. But she wasn't surprised at the information Ares had- no, she was surprised at something else.

"The way you speak..." Kristen whispered, eyes now narrowing.

"You have any problem with how I speak, demigod?"

The way Ares spoke. It was... and that light, too...

She was a camper really long ago, so she _had _been to Olympus several times. She met various gods and goddesses there, including Ares.

How could she be so dumb? Ares always made people angry around him, but now, standing just a few feet in front of him, she wasn't angry. She was scared, definitely, but not angry. Even seeing the near-death child on the burning floor near them, she wasn't angry. She was really terrified.

And the way he spoke. She heard Ares speaking in Olympus and to his kids. She could tell that _this_ Ares rarely said things like 'brat', and those stutters... it was as if this Ares was about to use some big words, but thought better of it, and refrained from doing so. He spoke with authority and expected others to follow his orders.

As if...

"You... you're not Ares, are you?" Kristen whispered, as realization struck her.

That was the wrong thing to said.

'Ares' face darkened, and the grin disappeared. It happened in the blink of an eye, but Kristen was certain, that a streak of lightning erupted from his hand and collided with her chest.

As her world went dark, the only thought that passed Kristen's mind was, _'Who is this guy?'_

~0~

Ares glowered at the young woman as she laid there on the floor, her entire torso charred and smoking.

Bah, he knew he shouldn't speak. The way _he_ spoke was too brash and had an underlying tone of 'I'm gonna beat your ass up if you say something stupid or I say something stupid and you rub it in my face,' and was just something he couldn't do. And he knew he should've never used his powers here. There were eyes everywhere, and if Poseidon found out...

Growling, Ares approached the young woman, and pointed the shotgun at her face. Of course, the probability of her surviving that attack was already low to begin with, but he just had to be certain.

After the gun reloaded itself with magic, he realized something.

Aphrodite was going to hate him for what he did.

...well... he could always make it up to her one way or another.

_BANG!_

Nodding to himself, he turned around to finish what he started. Only to stop in his tracks.

Standing above the Jackson kid was a figure, wrapped in an oversized black robe, leaving no sight of either legs or arms, with a hood covering the face as the unknown entity looked down. The figure looked up to stare at him, and the figure's- a man's- eyes widened.

The man, he instantly knew, was another god. The thing that gave him away wasn't his golden eyes with his dark skin, no. It was his wings; shimmering in blue, black, and purple, which sprouted the moment he was surprised.

He opened his mouth, about to ask who was this man, but the new god beat him to it.

"Ares?" the god asked, eyebrows scrunching in confusion. "What are you doing here?"

So... this god knew him? But the only deity that went along well with him other than Aphrodite was... "Thanatos? Is that you?"

The god nodded, but he still looked befuddled. "It is me indeed, old friend. What are you doing here, if I may ask? Last week, you said you were going to Las Vegas."

Oh great. What made him friends with Thanatos again?

Hm... if he recalled correctly, didn't he rescue Thanatos when he was shackled for the first time? The God of Death was captured once, so no one could die. That didn't sit well with him (read : pissed him off), so he searched for where Thanatos could be, and succeeded. Thanatos had been grateful ever since, he mused.

"No, I... changed my mind," he said, wincing. He should've known. "I got some... unfinished business here."

"Truly? But... weren't you just at Locus Casino a few hours ago?"

Ares grimaced. "It's... a sudden thing. You know how it goes. My fath- my old man needed me for something, and... yeah."

Thanatos smiled and nodded in understanding. "Of course." Then he motioned at the two bodies on the floor, blood still pouring from their wounds. "And what of these? Are these your doing?"

"Yes."

A smirk bloomed on Thanatos' face. "Of course it was you. This level of brutality can only be achieved by you and not anyone else, no?"

A weary smile appeared on his own face. "Ah ha... yeah... anyway, what-"

"_Freeze!_" a voice shouted.

He sighed. Could this day be any worse? He turned around grumpily, facing a group of policemen who had their guns aimed at him, followed closely by a group of medics and some firefighters. So the mortal law enforcement has arrived at last. Took them long enough.

"Drop down that gun!" the police that seemed to be in command yelled. "I said drop it! We have you surrounded!"

He let out another frustrated sigh, then glanced at Thanatos who watched them with an amused expression. Hm... if Thanatos was here, standing above the bodies, then he was done. He had no more business with the mortals any longer, so he might as well leave.

He summoned a small metal ball, then dropped it. He nodded at Thanatos.

"See you later, God of Death."

The bomb released its contents, unleashing a thick black curtain all over the place.

~0~

Thanatos grinned and nodded back at his friend just before the smoke bomb exploded. Exactly like he thought, after the smoke cleared, Ares was nowhere to be found.

Thanatos chuckled. No matter what Ares said, he had a flair of dramatic exits just like his father.

Shaking his head and his mirth, Thanatos looked down at the bodies, ignoring the mortals as they rushed forth and moved past him, while the policemen scattered to find Ares, which he knew was a futile attempt. Both bodies were damaged quite badly, but of course, he had lived as long as Ares, so he was somewhat used to gruesome deaths caused by the God of War.

Thanatos moved his gaze to the smaller of the two bodies- the boy with torn out stomach. He wasn't dead yet, but he was close. The only thing preventing him from finally dying was the god himself, or at the very least, the medic that tried to stem the blood and force oxygen into his lungs (key-word on 'tried').

Thanatos lifted his hand, and a white flame-like sprite flew forth from the boy's body, and into his hand. He was ready to take the child's soul, but then a surge of memories hit him like a huge pomegranate to the face from one of Lady Persephone and Lord Hades' fight.

~0~

_Thanatos stood on mid-air, right outside the eleventh floor of a hospital room. Inside the room itself, adults were crying, and two in particular were hunched over the bed, mourning the loss of their young child, screaming and sobbing how life wasn't fair._

_No, Thanatos agreed. Life wasn't fair, indeed. And, with that, neither was death. He was always interested in seeing these mortals. They knew it was a fact that nothing was fair in this world, and yet they seemed bewildered whenever something unfair happened to them. What an interesting bunch._

"_So the kid's time is over?"_

_He looked to his side. Another god- obviously- stood there. A flowing green robe latched on to him, littered with golden designs that resembled a clock. The god himself looked ancient but tough, with a hardened face and long, gray hair down to the base of his neck. The arm that held a huge golden scythe was wrapped by at least five watches, each one ticking and showing different times than each other._

_The way he spoke made him sound younger than he appeared, it seemed._

"_Yes." Thanatos nodded. "I just took his soul." _

"_Huh. Was it painful?" the god asked, raising an eyebrow._

"_No," Thanatos answered. "I made sure of it."_

"_Really? Groovy."_

_Thanatos waited for the green-clad god to speak first, but he just stood there staring at the family inside the room. Thanatos raised an eyebrow, and looked at the family too. _

_They were still. The parents stopped screaming._

_Thanatos noticed something else. He couldn't hear anything. Looking around, he saw that the mortals below froze mid-step, pausing as they were talking, or just stopped entirely. Around the two gods, the wind stopped blowing, and birds were frozen as they flapped. Thanatos himself lost grasp on anything in the world- he couldn't feel anyone living, nor anyone dying. Nothing existed, and yet, everything _did_._

_Thanatos finally realized that the god beside him wasn't any ordinary being. And not just that, the god was waiting for him to speak. So he coughed to his fist, and faced the other god, who stared blankly at the room in front of them._

"_I am Thanatos," he introduced himself, bowing slightly. "If I may ask, who are you?"_

_The god stared at him for a few moments. "...Ah. Mine apologies. I hast forgotten mine office. 'Tis good to meet thou,God of Death, and I am Chronos, God of Time."_

_Thanatos jolted when the god said the word 'Kronos', but then he stopped when he finally concluded with 'God of Time'. "Er... Kronos with a K or a C and an H?"_

"_A C and an H." Chronos smirked. "Didst I startle thou? No surprise. The Titan of Time doth hast the like name as I, so I am wont seeing people being frighted of me."_

_And now the god was speaking as if they were living in the medieval times. Was this Chronos really _the _Chronos? To think that a Primordial God would grace him with his presence... the Primordial Deities rarely dealt with them. Not even the Olympians. The fact that one of them appeared before him and not Lord Hades was baffling, to say the least._

"_A... are you...?" Thanatos stuttered. He was afraid, to be honest. If the Primordial God of Time himself was standing next to him, freezing the entirety of Manhattan (or perhaps, even the entire world...) did that meant his time had come to an end? He knew, in the end, even Death must succumb to time. He wasn't afraid of a final rest, for what kind of deathgod would he be if he planned to subvert his own? No, he was more afraid of what his master would do if his most trusted servant suddenly kicked the bucket. "Am I...?"_

"_Óchi, min anisychéis. Tha értho gia sas, se éftheto chróno."_

_And now he was speaking Greek. Thanatos held back a sigh of relief. At least, he knew it wasn't time for him to die yet. _

_Chronos stilled for a moment, then he shook his head. After that, he tapped the blunt side of his golden scythe to his forehead. Moments after that weird display, the ancient god turned to look at him, sighing._

"_Sorry for that," he muttered. "I always forgot what age is this, and kept changing and changing languages based off my current memories. I apologize of thou were-" Chronos winced- "...I apologize if you were confused."_

"_Thou want not to worry." Thanatos smiled at him reassuringly, bowing more deeply. Lord Chronos was really humble than he had expected, apologizing to a lowly minor god such as him."Luckily for me, katalavaíno óla. Also, I'm sorry, but I do not speak slangs."_

_Chronos snorted, but he didn't look surprised. Either he already expected him to speak those languages, or he already seen and/or knew that he would speak like that, Thanatos reasoned in his mind._

"_Anyway." Chronos exhaled. "I came here to see you to ask you something. A favour, to be frank."_

_Thanatos looked intrigued. "What can I do that a Primordial God cannot?"_

_Chronos grimaced. "It is not something that you should do, but instead, something you should _not _do."_

_Thanatos went silent for a second. "You want me to spare someone?"_

_Chronos smirked. "That's right, bucko. And if you spare him, I can give you something you want._

"_A time off."_

~0~

Based on what Chronos described to him, the boy with ripped internal organs _did _fit the description. And the name that the dying soul held- Regulus Jackson. It _was _the name that Chronos told him not to kill yet.

Thanatos was hesitant. Not about taking the soul of a child (Olympus knows he did too much of it already. Mortals are truly dreadful beings), but going against his own rule. Death spared no one- no matter the age, the gender, the cause of death. Death was fair, yet at the same time, it was unfair.

But then again, Chronos _did _mention that he was going to speak to his master after speaking with him, so he supposed Lord Hades had nothing against not taking the boy's soul. After all, Lord Hades may be bitter, but he wasn't stupid. One wrong thing to say and Chronos may just erase Lord Hades- or even the entire kingdom- out of time and history, which means he was cast out of reality itself.

Resolving himself, Thanatos nodded, and lowered his hand.

"_We_ _need_ _help_!" one of the medics shouted behind him. "Her lungs are ruined, but her heart's still beating!"

Ah. Of course. There was one more soul to take.

Thanatos pushed the white sprite of Regulus' soul back into his body, then trudged to the woman's broken form.

He, after all, had a job to do.

~0~

The clouds darkened.

Even before it happened, Percy was deathly afraid, and overwhelmingly confused. It was just like a nightmare came true- no, it was _exactly _like his nightmare, all those years ago. All the fire, the screaming, the people... though to his relief, it looked like no one was on the ground yet, with a white cloth covering their bodies.

But Ray was still missing.

Percy followed his mom all over the place, but he just couldn't find the strength to yell Ray's name, despite his mom kept shouting all the time, either calling for Ray or just helping someone escape. He just didn't want to know if his drea- no, _nightmare _would come true. He didn't want to imagine Ray on the ground with a cloth covering his face.

And then, the sky went pitch black.

It was so sudden. One second, the firefighters were pretty much struggling uselessly to keep the fire from spreading, and the next, thunder boomed, and rain started pouring down.

However, even if the fire were gone, there were still the injured that needed to be brought to the nearest hospital. Firefighters switched from carryings hoses to stretchers. Police and news reporter crew (that arrived a while after the police were called) helped too, and slowly but surely, the people on the school grounds either went to the hospital or went home.

But still no sign of Ray.

That was, until a group of frantic medic kicked the door open, catching all the attention of the remaining people, and hurried to the last remaining ambulance, all carrying stretchers. One was (Percy shuddered) covered in cloth, and the other wasn't, but there was an oxygen mask on their face, and instead of covered in cloth, was covered by blood and soot.

But the second body was small, compared to the other one. And the clothes that the figure wore... wasn't that...?

It was mom realized who the second body was first.

"Ray...?"

~0~


	4. Sally Kidnaps a Hospital Patient

A/N : Thank you, guest reviewer, for reminding me of that error.

Disclaimer : Yeah, I'm Rick Riordan alright. 'cus you all know that. (No I'm not, please don't sue me)

~0~

_Sally Abducts a Hospital Patient_

~0~

'_Where the bloody hell is Ray?' _Percival thought, obviously annoyed.

He stood on a tree-house near the school, conveniently hidden behind lush leaves of the forest. The German child stared at the plume of smoke rising from his seemingly former school.

They were supposed to escape the school. That was the plan.

Ever since the Columbine High School Massacre just a few months ago, he and Ray devised a plan in case a student or two get insane and start throwing bullets all over the place. Even though the IARD tactic _existed_, neither of them really wanted to test its effectiveness.

So the two of them carried homemade smoke bombs (Ray was surprised when he found out that Percival knew how to make these) everytime they went to school, and if a shooter appeared out of nowhere, one of them would throw theirs and engulf a room with smoke. With the diversion, they would bolt out of the room, with students that are smart enough to realize the situation following suit. After that, the two friends were supposed to meet at this tree house and call 911, if by chance the IARD tactic hasn't begun to move (like mentioned before, none of them really wanted to test its effectiveness).

However, despite the fact that the smoke had appeared like a half an hour ago, the bloody fool hadn't arrived yet.

And Percival was starting to worry about his only friend.

'_Ray_ _is_ _resourceful_,' he kept reminding himself, '_And_ _knows_ _how_ _to_ _trick_ _people_. _If_ _anyone_ _can_ _survive_, _it's_ _him_.'

Percival remembered the first time they met. The imbecile was just sitting there, watching him get pummeled and robbed. And only when the bullies left, he dropped down from the tree and introduced himself.

Percival left, just sparing him a dirty glance.

And then, a few days later, the same weird guy walked up to his desk and gave him his wallet back, with actually more money than he had in the first place.

After Percival forced Ray to elaborate, he now knew that this oddly purple-eyed kid tricked one of the bullies that his friends had been talking trash behind his back, and vice versa to the other bullies. When the bullies fought each other, Ray plucked Percival's wallet, and a few dollars from the bullies' wallets, and left the class.

The next thing the bullies knew, they got called to the principal's office for fighting, and none of the things they said actually pointed out to Ray as the culprit in the first place. After further prodding, Percival found out that Ray's lies wasn't actual lies, but words spoken out of the bullies' mouths themselves that he twisted them a bit it would sound like an insult.

From that day forward, Percival found out that Ray was a dangerous person.

But even then... it was almost an hour. His friend was nowhere to be found.

Percival was definitely worried.

"Dammit..." he muttered. "Where the heck are you, Ray?"

At the rate things were going, Percival started to think that Ray actually got _trapped_ in the school.

Percival glowered. Maybe it was about time he should go back and help his friend.

"I don't think so."

Percival whipped around, eyes wide, and everything went black.

~0~

The grass were scorched- utterly turned black and charred by the flame. Children and adults ran around, screaming in fear. All around them, people were on the ground, neither moving nor breathing, draped by a simple white cloth to cover their faces.

Percy could only stand there, watching as the school- _Ray's _school- became ruins, and as he indeed watched, a section of it succumbed to the fire and fell. He could hear the trapped students' scream cut short abruptly.

Percy put his hands to his ears, barely muffling the sound around him as he lowered to his knees. Or maybe he was trying to block the sound of his own sobbing, because there were tears running down his face.

"M-mom... Ray..." he whispered tearfully, choking. "W-where... where are you...?"

Percy decided against holding his hands to his ears, and wiped his water away. As his vision cleared, he could see a child figure lying on their back on the burnt grass, their faded black hoodie became darker on the back area, the grass around their torso slowly pooled with red.

It didn't take a genius to know who it was.

Percy screamed.

~0~

"Kristen...?" Sally whispered, horrified, as her hands flew to her mouth and her eyes widened.

The doctor nodded, face grim. "Yes. It would seem that Ms. O'Brien died in the struggle against the criminal."

Sally gulped. To think that Kristen died while trying to save Ray... despite that there was a high chance she would regret knowing this, she asked anyway. "A-and what happened to Ray?"

The doctor sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Well... Ray has second degree burns on various parts of his body. His ribs are cracked too, but we patched it up just fine. The only potentially fatal problem is..."

"Is...?"

"...there was a hole through your son's stomach, and-"

Sally could feel vomit rising to her throat. "E-excuse me for a minute."

Without waiting for a reply, she stumbled to the bin in the hospital room, and proceeded to empty her stomach, while the doctor walked up to her and rubbed circles on her back.

"You don't need to worry, ma'am. We will just stitch your son to close the gap when he wakes up." He looked symphatetic again. "However, his transverse colon- er, some parts of his innards are, unfortunately, damaged quite badly, so I'm afraid we'll have to do surgery in order to remove it and replace it. "

Sally barely heard him. "My son..." she sobbed, sinking to the ground. "My beautiful son..."

The doctor plucked a water bottle from a nearby nurse who was walking while carrying some of them, and gave it to Sally. "As I said before, you don't need to worry, ma'am. He is in perfectly good hands."

Sally took a small sip of the water, still shaking, and slowly stood up. She nodded at the doctor, but her eyes were downcast. "Thanks, doc," she muttered quietly.

The man smiled sadly at her. "Think nothing about it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm afraid I'm needed somewhere else. Despite what happened yesterday, I will still wish you a good day, Mrs. Jackson."

After the man left the room, Sally went back to sit near her youngest son, who was asleep on a small couch for a patient's visitor. In front of them, was a bed with an also sleeping Ray on it. There were dark bags underneath his eyes, an IV and other such needles was attached to him, and bandages wrapped around most of his body.

The nurses said that Ray had woke up in the middle of the night, crying and screaming, while she herself wasn't allowed to meet him yet. The nurses tried to calm him down, and when that didn't work, gave him some sleeping pills.

Sally felt like a failure. Her son was suffering, and she could only just sit uselessly outside the door, with Percy sleeping on her lap, biting her lower lip as Ray's whimpers and muffled cries were barely held back by the door.

And Kristen... God, Kristen. Sally wanted to apologize so bad. The young woman had lost her life in an effort to protect her child.

God... it was all her fault, wasn't it? Her selfishness of wanting her sons close to her cost Kristen her life. It would most probably mentally scar both Ray and Percy. All of them paid the price for her greed.

A whimper broke her from her self-loathing. To her ever-increasing worry, the whimper came from her youngest son that laid next to her.

"M-mom... Ray..." tears started to flow down from Percy's closed eyes. "W-where... where are you...?"

"Percy? Wake up," Sally whispered, shaking his body lightly, careful not to surprise either Percy or Ray. "You're having a nigthmare."

It wasn't a pleasant sight. Percy, her usually bright and cheerful young son, cried in his sleep. His forehead was damp, and his raven black hair sticked to it. Beneath his eyelids, Percy's eyes kept glancing left and right.

And then, all of a sudden, Percy's eyes snapped open, and he screamed. Seeing her, Percy jumped to her lap and sobbed to her uniform. She literally forgot she hadn't changed outfits still yesterday.

Sally drew circles on Percy's back, and whispered to his ear, "It's okay, Percy. It was just a nightmare."

"M-mom..." Percy cried, muffled slightly by her shirt. "I-it was Ray... he... he was just- just-!"

Sally put her chin on top of his head. "It's okay, Percy, it's okay. Ray's okay, I'm okay, and you're okay."

Percy whimpered to her shirt.

Suddenly, the door flew open as frantic nurses flew inside. One caught sight of her.

"We heard the scream," she explained frantically at Sally's confused look. "What happened?!"

Sally sighed. "Nightmare." She glanced down at Percy, then at Ray as if to reinforce her statement, then focused her attention to Percy again.

The nurse's eyes softened. "Do you want any help?" she offered.

Sally smiled at her wearily. "No, but thank you anyway."

The nurse nodded, and turned to her colleagues before pulling them away from the room one by one. When they all retreated from the somewhat cramped hospital room, Sally noticed that Percy just realized where they were, and realized who was on the bed.

His eyes widened.

"Ra-!" Sally clamped down her hand on her youngest son's mouth. He looked up, only to see his mother that held a reprimanding look on her face. Understanding washed over his face, and he nodded.

"Wha-what happened, mom?" Percy whispered after Sally's hand was removed from his face. His voice was so quiet Sally had to strain her ears to hear it. Percy stared at his brother's form, Ray's bandaged chest rising and lowering slowly.

What happened? That was the thing Sally wondered herself. What had truly happened at school? The teachers explained that they saw a huge, six-foot tall biker entered the school, but she couldn't really trust their words. Not that she doubted their honesty, but since no one actually found the guy again, she knew he was a monster, and the mortals just _thought_ they saw a huge biker, though in reality it may just as well be a gigantic seven-headed serpent-dragon.

So... no, she didn't really know.

She sighed. "I... I don't know, Percy."

Percy walked over to Ray's bedside, still staring at him. He looked hesitant , as if he wanted to touch him, but was too afraid, like a single touch was what it take for Ray to suddenly just keel over and die. Percy looked stricken.

Sally, understanding what he wanted to do, pulled a plastic foldable chair from the corner of the room, unfolded it, and pushed it right next to Ray's bed.

Percy turned around to look at her, his emotions clear as day on his face. He looked scared, worried, tired, but also grateful at his mom. That wasn't the face for an six year old. It was the face of an old man.

He sat down, and flinched when he took hold of Ray's hand. The bandage on Ray's palm held a slight red tint in it, seeping through the white cloth.

So, instead, Percy just folded his arms on Ray's bed, and laid his head on them, his face looking at Ray's own sleeping one.

Sally smiled sadly, standing up. She picked up one of the blankets she brought to the hospital and draped it over her youngest son, ruffling his hair and kissed the top of his head.

Without looking up, Percy muttered, "Thanks, mom."

"Of course, honey."

...She wanted to rest, and the couch looked really comfortable at the moment.

~0~

Percy dreaded sleeping. Ever since his last nightmare, sleeping sounded like the worst thing to experience right now. Despite mom's bribery ("I'll give you a cookie when you wake up, Percy."), he really didn't want to sleep. But who was he kidding? He was six. Even before the hanging clock's long needle pointed to eight, he knew he had already lost a losing battle.

And he dreamt. _Of_ _course_ he dreamt.

Looking at the area he was in, Percy had hopes that he wasn't having a nightmare. He was on the sky. And he wasn't falling. He could feel wind blowing on his face, but, somehow, he stood on a... on what _looked like _a garden. Around him, beatiful golden and silver flowers bloomed, intermingled with each other, forming a circle on a large green patch of grass. And around the flower fence, clouds sat. White, fluffy clouds. Percy wondered how it felt. He really wanted to touch it.

In the middle of the garden, there was a nice-looking, mosaic-ish, three-tiered fountain. On top of the fountain was an eagle sculpture, spreading its wings, looking at the upper sky. Beside the fountain, was a man.

The man looked like he was having the time of his life. He wore a lazy outfit : like a t-shirt, cargo pants, and a pair of sandals. He lounged on a white garden chair, a satisfied smile on his face as he stared down at the (was that Manhattan below?!) city one of his leg on top of the other. He held a glass filled with red liquid, and on a table next to him, was a bottle filled with the same red liquid.

And to Percy's surprise, he could actually _understand _the writings on the bottle.

"_THE CRIMSON BLESSING"_

_DIONYSUS BREWERIES,_

_MAKING BEST WINES SINCE 0012_

Which was awesome considering Percy could barely read English. Though... looking at it closer... was it just him, or were the writings weren't English at all? It didn't look like English, that was for sure. Wonder what language was it if he, out of all people, could read it.

"Lord Zeus! Lord Zeus!"

The strained voice turned Percy's attention from trying to read more words on the bottle, and he noticed the man's smile turned upside down. But then, when he saw who said it, his eyes widened.

What the...?

Meanwhile, the man- _Lord Zeus_ -scowled, and sat straighter. "What is it, satyr?"

'Satyr'? Was that the name of these creatures? The face was normal enough, he thought- this 'satyr' looked like a man in his middle years, and had a stubble on his chin. He had wild hair, and there was a pair of _horns _sprouting out of it.

And if that wasn't weird enough, from waist below, the guy was only wool and had only a pair of _animal_ _hooves _as legs. He was like a crossbreed of a sheep and a man.

"The boy! The boy!" the 'satyr' wheezed. He sounded scared and _looked _scared, probably because this Lord Zeus guy looked irritated.

"_Which_ _boy_?" Zeus asked with emphasis.

The satyr gasped. "The child of Poseidon is still _alive!_"

Zeus' face went blank.

"Tha-" the satyr cut himself off by gasping for another breath- "Thanatos reported that he couldn't take the boy's life because the boy was saved in the time he was allowed to be saved that was set by Lord Hades!" The satyr rambled, not realizing Zeus' decreasing mood. "He's still alive!"

"...Where is he."

"He's also... w-what?"

"**I said **_**where**__**is**__**he**_**?**"

The wind became harsher and the temperature dropped suddenly. The white clouds around them darkened, becoming pitch black storm clouds. Around Zeus' clenched fists, something flickered and crackled.

Percy understood the implication. This Zeus guy wasn't a normal human being.

The satyr's face became ghostly white. "N-NYC Health plus Hospital..."

"**WHICH ONE?!**"

The satyr whimpered. "The one on sixty-five Water street..."

In a flash of light, Zeus' vacation clothes became a neatly trimmed suit, and his sandals became black shoes. The wind picked up, even faster than before, and the satyr yelped.

As Percy opened his eyes, the last thing he remembered was that Zeus looked really _really _angry.

~0~

Sally woke up just in time to hear several knocks, and thankfully not _because_ of it. She turned her head around, momentarily forgetting where she was. Percy had detached himself from his brother and curled himself around her (Sally sighed when she saw that half of Percy's body dangled off the admittedly small couch, then repositioned him so he would be more comfortable), while Ray was still fast asleep.

She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, then stood up,stretching for a bit. She glanced at the clock, noticing that it was still six in the morning. Of course it was six- there weren't any sunlight. Who would come knocking at six on a Sunday morning?

After she unlocked and opened the door, she got her answer.

Apparently, Percival Schneider and his father would.

"I apologize." The blond man with icy blue eyes in his thirties sighed, then spoke with a (really) thick German accent. "Zis _kleiner junge_ vanted to see his friend, _und _since our room is close to yours... he suggested ve go now. I apologize again for this."

Sally waved the apology off and smiled. "It's fine, I wasn't asleep anyway." Not like she planned on sleeping in. "Why don't you two come in?"

The man smiled wearily, and just when he set one foot in front of the other, he stopped. There were bags under his eyes. Just like her, she supposed. "...Vhere vere my manners? My name is Ludwig. Ludwig Schneider."

As the two adults were caught in the conversation, Percival was standing there, politely listening to the two of them, carrying a book- a novel, maybe- and if he was annoyed at them, he didn't show it. Sally didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"Well, I'm Sally Jackson. Come on in," Sally said, smiling.

Percival smiled at her and stepped into the room, his father following closely. The man's exhausted face became more exhausted somehow when he caught sight of an unconscious Ray and a sleeping Percy.

"He's... Ray, isn't he?" Ludwig muttered. "The one that...?"

Sally sighed, not bothering to force a smile onto her face. She went to a small table the hospital had provided, and poured water to a couple of styrofoam cups."Yes."

"_Ich entschuldige mich_," the man offered weakly, sitting down. As this happened, Percival looked around the hospital room. Seeing both Percy and Ray were still asleep, he decided to sit down next to his friend and opened up the book he was carrying and begun to read.

Sally shook her head. "Don't be." Ever since Ray told her about Percival, his first ever-friend, and the fact that he was from Germany, Sally had learned basic things like 'Thank you' and 'I'm sorry' in German to make Percival feel more comfortable whenever he visited their apartement. Of course, it was all for naught when she found out Percival was only _born _in Germany and never actually lived in it.

"No offense, Mr. Schneider," Sally said, realizing something, "But what are you doing in this hospital? You mentioned that you're from Percival's room..."

"Ze police found him in a forest near the school, unconscious, _und_ zey sent him here," Ludwig explained, "Thankfully, nothing seems to be vrong. He blacked out, though the cause is unclear to me."

"Thank goodness." Sally sighed.

"_Ja_. Did ze police caught who...?"

"No." Sally took a deep breath. "I doubt they would ever find him, anyway. He's a..." she trailed off. Not like Ludwig would understand her situation. What could she say? That her son's school just got attacked by an unknown creature- possibly an ancient monster- because her husband is a Greek god and thus a part of him resides in her sons? No, obviously.

"Ah." Ludwig's eyes narrowed. "One of _zhem_? When are you planning to send your son to camp?"

Sally almost dropped the cups she was holding. And her surprise seemed to be clear as day on her face, because Ludwig nodded.

"_Ja_, I know," The German man whispered, walking closer. "Percival is exactly like your sons. His mother's the goddess of visdom. Did anyone not tell you about vhat vould happen?"

"I... wha?" Sally just stood there, watching him with mouth agape. Then her mind snapped back to its place, and she put down the cups on the table again, before whispering back, "Y-yes, a guy named Chiron did warn me and sent me a brochure for a camp."

"Good." Ludwig gave her a satisfied smile. "_Und_ vhen are you going to sent him, if I may ask?"

Sally sighed, sitting down on the nearest seat. She was glad that another parent that had the same circumstances as her was standing in the same room as her in the moment, but she couldn't quite appreciate the fact that it was forced down her throat at six in the morning.

"We were planning on going the day after tomorrow..." Sally's shoulder slumped. "But then, this happened."

"Overmorrow."

Both Ludwig and Sally blinked, then turned to Percival, who was also staring back at them. "What? The day after tomorrow is called overmorrow, and the day before yesterday is called ereyesterday. Isn't that right, Mrs. Jackson?"

Before Sally could answer, Ludwig growled at his son. "Percival Schneider. Vhat did I tell you about _eavesdropping_?"

Percival shrunk back. "Sorry. But, not like you two were quiet in the first place, father."

Ludwig let out a long breath while rubbing his forehead. He muttered several words in German under his breath, then sighed, before finally turning to look at her again. "Sorry for his-"

"He knows?!" Sally's voice almost reached the level of yelling, and her eyes were wide.

"_Ja_? Of course he knows. I just told him a few hours ago, before going to your son's room."

"But... why?"

"Holding information vould just prove badly in the future," Ludwig explained, "_Und _since the... ah, _attack _at the school, it offers all the more reason to release the truth."

"But... wouldn't it just endanger them?" Sally asked, concerned.

"_Das Leben ist kein Ponyhof_," Ludwig said, "Life is not a pony farm. Because it _is _already hard, I vill ensure my _kleiner junge _obtains knowledge and power the older he gets. To make sure he vill survive."

Sally went silent. She never considered it. Chiron told her that revealing her sons' parentage was the worst thing she could do, and she trusted him. Of course, she understood that turning her son' father's identity a secret was not how a good parent should act, and she _had _wondered if hiding things was a good a idea in the first place.

Ludwig shook his head. "In any case, ve are getting off topic. How are you going to send your son?"

"A bus," Sally replied, though she could hear her slight hesitance. "Or a cab. Obviously not walking."

"I would offer help, but I am afraid I do not have any vehicle." Ludwig sighed, annoyed at himself.

"It's okay. Have Percival been to this camp before?"

"I vas actually thinking to-"

"Oh, good morning, Percy." Percival's voice cut him off unintentionally.

Percy wiped his eyes, and yawned. His messy raven hair was messier than usual. When he saw that the room was crowded, he looked surprised. When he realized that one of the new occupants were someone he knew, he was even more surprised.

"Percival?"

Sally smiled at her youngest son. "Morning, Percy."

Though Percy didn't seem to hear her. "What are you doing here?"

Percival nodded his head to the bed. Percy followed his sight, and blinked, staring at Ray, looking as if he had forgotten where he was for a moment. Then he slumped, while letting out a small, "Oh."

As if he couldn't bear to look at his unconscious brother, Percy looked at the other newcomer. Then he looked back at Percival. Then at the man again. Then back at Percival.

"Are you two related?" Percy asked curiously.

Before Sally could rebuke him for such disrespect, Ludwig chuckled. "Yes, yes ve are... Percy, vas it? Percival is my son."

Percy blinked owlishly at him. "Percival has a dad?"

"Yes."

"Huh." Then Percy looked down, sadness and envy oozing out of his posture. "I wish I have a dad." Then he glanced briefly at Ray. "Though I do have Ray, and he's like my dad..."

Percy shook his head, and faced his mom. "Mom? I'm hungry."

Ludwig burst out laughing. "_Erst kommt das Fressen, dann die Moral, ja?_"

"Uh..."

Percival read his book again. "Don't listen to him, Percy. He's trying to mess with you."

Sally smiled, and she suddenly didn't feel as old as she thought. "Percival, Ludwig? Do you want to join us for breakfast, too?"

The answer was Percival's rumbling stomach.

"Yes," Ludwig answered for him, mercifully ignoring his son as the boy raised his book to cover his reddening face.

~0~

When Percy said he was hungry he didn't expect that to get the food he had to go outside. Getting away from his hospitalized older brother was out of the question, so he refused to go out and just asked his mom to buy food for him to go. Mom was reluctant at first, but after he used his deadly secret weapon (what Ray named as "Stare of Doom" which in reality was just him giving his cutest look) mom finally relented and left, promising to be back very soon.

That was fifteen minutes ago. Left alone with no one else to talk to, he was infinitely bored, yet he was adamant from setting one foot out of this room as long as Ray still slept on the bed. So he found other things to occupy himself, which included reading Percival's book (upside down, he later found out), playing with his toys, walking around the small room, and staring out the window.

Percy glanced at the clock.

Thatwas _five_ minutes ago. So it had been only twenty minutes since mom and Percival and Percival's dad had left, and he was still bored.

He sighed, dramatically, and stared at Ray's sleeping face for the dozenth time in that short twenty minutes.

Then he saw something.

Above Ray's head and a bit to the right... there was a blue button on the wall. It was positioned conveniently right within arm's reach.

So of course Percy pressed it, careful not to hit Ray. The big blue button was like _begging_ to be pressed.

For a few seconds, nothing happened. He wondered what was the purpose of this button, and then he heard a crackling sound. It came from several, small holes right beside the button.

"_This is the Nurse's Office," _a cheerful woman's voice replaced the crackling noise, _"How can I help you?"_

Percy's eyes widened. "Is... is this a phone?"

There was only silence from the holes- a speaker, mom told him once. He caught annoyed mutterings that sounded like 'Another kid pressed the button,' and then the cheerful voice- now he realized it sounded forced- came back on.

"_No, this is not," _it said, _"Where are your parents, little boy?"_

"Mom left to get breakfast," Percy answered. Finally _someone _he could speak to! "And I have no idea about my dad. He left when I was little."

"_...oh. Uh, I'm sorry?" _the voice hesitantly replied. _"H-how old are you?"_

And even as the speaker was just a few inches above his face, Ray still haven't woken up. To answer the mysterious voice's question, Percy counted in his head.

He then smiled. "I'm six."

"_Six." _The voice sounded surprised. _"And your mom just left you alone in there?"_

"Well... not _alone_, alone. My big brother's here. He's still sleeping, though. But mom promised she'd come back soon."

Then there were irrittated mutterings that came from the speaker. It sounded like 'Unresponsible adults.'

Since the voice took so long and Percy still wanted to talk, he asked, "Er... just who are you exactly?"

"_Uh... I'm Hathaway."_

Percy grinned. "Nice to meet you, Hathaway. I'm Percy."

"_Percy. Why are you in the hospital, Percy? Are you sick?"_

Percy shook his head, though he had no idea if the voice could see him doing that. "No, I'm here because my brother's hurt."

"_Hurt? Is that why your brother's sleeping?"_

"I dunno. I think a bad guy hurt him."

"_A 'bad guy'?" _Hathaway sounded concerned.

"Yeah. He was hurt in the school, because a bad guy hurt him."

"_A bad guy in school..." _Hathaway trailed off. _"Is his school Yancy, by any chance?"_

"Yup. The school was burning when we got there, though." Percy avoided the memory of his nightmare where Ray laid on the ground bleeding and dying. "So I don't know if his school is still standing."

"_Your brother is a survivor from the Yancy School Assault?!"_

'Yancy School Assault'? "...maybe?"

"_Holy shiiiiii...take mushrooms!" _Hathaway gasped. _"He's still unconscious?"_

Percy had no idea what 'unconscious' meant. Probably adult word for 'sleeping.' "Yeah."

"_I'm sorry." _Hathaway sounded genuine. _"Are you hurt too?"_

"No."

"_Good for you."_

"Yeah," Percy replied, a bit somberly. "Good for me."

"_...do you want-?" _Hathaway abruptly cut herself off. There were distant sounds of other people speaking on the other side, and then Hathaway returned. She sounded apologetic. _"Sorry Percy, but it's my shift now. I have to go."_

His shoulder slumped. "Okay."

"_See you later, Percy."_

"See you."

Then there was a click, and even the slight crackling sounds disappeared. He sighed, and sat down at Ray's bedside once again, staring at his sleeping brother's face.

"I hope you're awake, Ray," he whispered.

Ray's face twitched.

Percy's eyes widened. Did he...? No, he was sure he didn't imagine it.

"Ray...?" Percy whispered again.

Slowly, painfully slowly, both of Ray's eyes cracked open, and his purple eyes, tired but not hurting, stared back at him, looking a bit confused.

"Percy...?"

"_Ray_!"

And Percy didn't care that when mom and the Schneider family returned, they found him sobbing on Ray's bed, and Ray himself looked tired, disheveled, confused, concerned, but definitely awake.

~0~

Ray called him a man of his words, once. Percy had no idea what that meant. Though being called a man did kick his confidence up, the rest was still confusing. Mom then explained that a man of his words is a saying- it meant that someone who always keeps a promise. Ray had snorted and replied that he said that not because of his promise-keeping, but of his stubborness.

He remembered this memory for no reason. His mind just brought it up because he swore not to let Ray out of his sight, and that included glaring at Ray while eating french fries.

After Ray woke up and mom arrived, she frantically called the doctors. A couple of nurses and a doctor surged into the small room, and started inspecting him and poking him with things. Then the police officers came in, badges shining. They asked his older brother some questions, then left.

The doctor pulled mom aside and talked to her seriously about something, but Percy couldn't understand a single sentence they were saying. Too many big words and weird words he never heard of before.

"You're a man of your words." Ray grinned wearily at him, still lacking energy.

Percy didn't reply. Though he would never admit it, he was scared that if he left Ray, then he would disappear again. It was stupid, but he couldn't help it.

"Percy," mom said, "Your fries."

"Oh right."

Still staring at his brother who had porridge instead of cheeseburger like the rest of them ("Why must I suffer so?"), he slowly lowered his hand down to pick up one golden stick of salty goodness, and put it in his mouth, then munched on it.

"Is he always like this?" he heard Percival's dad ask his mom.

"No," mom answered, and Percy could hear the smile in her voice.

Percival snorted. "Ray's right, father. Percy's literally a man of his words."

Percival's dad chuckled and went silent again, probably focusing on his own breakfast. After Percy realized he finished his fries, he continued to devour his cheeseburger.

Ray rolled his eyes when he saw Percy still staring at him, though he looked amused. "Percy, you don't have to worry. I won't be going anywhere. I don't think I _can _go anywhere." On the last part Ray sounded annoyed.

Percy narrowed his eyes, refusing to budge. He knew he was far more stubborn than his older brother could ever hope to be. For a while, everyone just focused on their own food, and the adults chattered to each other, while Percival returned to his book, careful to not let a breadcrumb to fall on it.

"_Ja_." Percival's dad's voice confirmed something that his mom said. "Any injured student or teacher vill be sent here."

"Nowhere else other than the NYC plus hospitals?" mom asked.

"_Nein_."

Percy suddenly sat straighter. NYC plus... where did he hear that name again? He felt that he heard it recently... when was it? He furrowed his eyebrows, momentarily forgetting that he should be gluing his eyes at his brother at the moment. A few days ago? No, that didn't feel right. It felt more recent. Yesterday? No, he was mostly asleep yesterday. Then when...?

If Percy could snap his fingers, he would've done it. A dream! Something about the child of... Psyden?

"Mom?" he called out, turning around, ignoring Ray's stifled laughter.

"Yes, honey?"

"Is there a hospital called NYC plus- I mean, NYC _Health_ plus hospital?"

Mom smiled. "Yes, Percy. We're in one."

"Oh." He felt dumb. He didn't even know the name of the hospital they were in.

"Why are you wondering, Percy?"

Percy shook his head. "I had a dream, and it was mentioned in it."

Percival's dad narrowed his eyes and leaned forward in his chair. "A dream? Can you describe vhat happened?"

At both his and his mom's questioning look, Percival's dad replied, "I am curious."

A lie, which Percy knew. Still, he conceded.

"Well," he began, remembering. "I was at this place that was really _high _in the sky! I could see clouds and the entire city from it. I was at a garden, I think. And there was this... guy."

Ever since the first sentence was spoken, Percy could see Percival's dad was thinking hard, while his mom just listened to him and Percival just lost in his own world, halfway through both his book and his burger.

"He looked happy, I think. He was just laying on a long chair, and smiling while drinking... uh... something called 'The Red Blessing,' I think? Anyway, and then this weird, half-sheep half-guy thing-"

"Satyr..." Percival's dad whispered, now looking more and more interested in his story.

"-came running into the garden," Percy continued, "And the guy- his name was Zeus, by the way-"

Mom's amused smile melted off, Percival's dad froze, Percival himself stopped eating, thunder rumbled in the sky, and he couldn't see Ray, who was behind him.

"-was angry because the half-sheep half-guy thing interrupted him, I think," Percy continued, ignoring the others' reaction. "But then the satyr- the half-sheep half-guy thing is call-"

"We know what they're called, Percy." Percival's voice was strained, and he clenched his book, his burger on a nearby table, forgotten.

Percy blinked at the weird hostility, then continued as if nothing happened. "Anyway, and then the satyr-thing started saying 'He's still alive! He's still alive!' and then Ze-"

"Don't say that name!" three people in the room, bar Percy and his brother, half-whispered half-shouted.

Percy's brows furrowed, but it was his brother who voiced his confusion.

"What's up with you guys?" Ray sounded as confused as he was, and Percy was glad that he wasn't the only one lost in this.

"Percy, dear, please continue." Mom ignored him, looking more and more worried and scared by every sentence jumping out of Percy's mouth.

Ray and him both shared a bewildered look, but he continued nonetheless. "Uh... the... guy... asked just who was this boy the satyr was talking about. And then the satyr said that the child of... Po... Pe... Psyden? Anyway, he said, 'The child of Psyden is still alive!'

Percival's dad dropped his burger. He turned around to look at mom, face the very definition of shock. Percival was wide-eyed, staring at him. Mom blanched, her face ghostly pale.

"You... their father is...?" Percival's dad whispered.

Percy ignored this, of course, though he looked annoyed at being kept interrupted over and over again. "And then the guy asked the satyr where this child of Psyden is, and the satyr answered NYC plus Health hospitals. That's it. The guy looked really angry, though."

Mom stood up instantly, the color returning to her face, her eyes laced with fear, though determination burned brightly in there, too. She faced him and his brother, who kept looking more and more confused per second.

"You two pack your b-" she stopped, probably realizing none of them brought any bags. "Just pack your things. We have to get out of here."

Percival's dad nodded, even though no one looked at him. He looked at his son. "Percival, you know vhat to do."

Without saying anything, Percival closed the book and jumped out of the couch and out of the room.

Percival's dad turned his attention to the remaining three occupants, blue eyes shining with determination. "You three, meet us outside ze hospital. Ve vill try bringing Ray to a safe place."

Without waiting for a reply, Percival's dad also ran out of the room.

Ray was the first to break the silence. "What on Earth?"

Mom stared at them. Her face was carefully blank, but Percy stayed with her all day so he knew when she was trying not to show her true emotions. And she was absolutely terrified.

"You two, change of plans." Ray looked up, following him. "We're all going to camp."

~0~

"What the- Hey! What are you doing?!"

Sally froze momentarily when she heard the doctor who helped Ray shouted at her. Then she kept sprinting, her eldest son latching on her back like a baby koala and her youngest latching on Ray's. Her adrenaline pumping in her veins, she ran like the Devil himself was chasing her even with both her sons on her back. Though, given the situation, it wouldn't be too far off the bat.

She finally exited the hospital lobby into the parking area, and found both Ludwig and Percival already waiting there with a cab.

"HEY! Security! She's escaping with a patient!" the doctor shouted as she heard his footfalls behind her. Then heavier footsteps joined behind her.

"Get in!" Ludwig shouted. Percival was already inside the yellow car, holding a briefcase.

Sally jumped inside, Percy giggling all the way while Ray was far less excited than her brother.

"FAHRT!" Ludwig roared, entering the passanger's seat. The driver, sweating nervously, stomped on the gas and they skidded off the hospital area. Since nobody told the driver where to go, Sally assumed that Ludwig had already told the driver before they arrived. Percy snickered, probably because Ludwig's shout sounded like 'Fart!'

"Okay, just what is going on?!" Ray shouted, looking extremely confused and disturbed.

"Ve have to get you out of here!" Ludwig shouted back, eyes scanning everything from behind them, beside them, in front of them, and even above them.

"Why?!"

"You are in danger!"

"From what?!"

"Stop shouting!" Sally yelled herself. Both quieted down, though Ludwig was not any less frantic. She sighed, then turned to Ray. "Honey, I hope you understand. We can't tell you anything at the moment. First we have to get you somewhere safe."

The driver was even more sweating nervously than before, eyes flicking from the road to the rearview mirror back and forth. He was probably thinking that his cab was probably filled with people that had loose screws.

Ray's eyebrows furrowed together. "Somewhere... safe?"

"Yes. Please understand."

He and Percival glanced at each other. "Uh... sure, I guess."

Ludwig growled at nothing in particular. "I do not like this. Nothing is chasing us at this moment." He turned around in his seat, looking at his son. "Percival, give me the briefcase,."

Silently, the German child handed his father a black leather briefcase. Ludwig opened it with a 'CLICK' and pulled something out of it. A handgun.

The driver's eyes widened at the sight of the firearm, making the cab swerve slightly, but he didn't pull over. Sally herself almost panicked at the weapon, but then she realized that the handgun was entirely silver, and there was a carving of an owl at the gun's leather grip.

Then she remembered that the Goddess of Wisdom, Athena, had owls as her sacred animal.

She crushed down the slightest of envy in her heart. Of course, she knew that if Poseidon ever interacted with them, even just the slightest thing like giving a gift, there was a high chance something bad would happen to them. But still, she couldn't help but wish.

The gun had perfect timing too, because when they almost reached the Atlantic Beach Bridge, something erupted from underneath the ground right in front of them. And the thing beneath it roared. All the other cars and such vehicles hastily braked while others turned away sharply. Not a few hit each other in the confusion.

"Go around it!" Ludwig ordered, eyes glued to the spot.

As the driver obeyed, a head- a huge lion's head- poked out of the rubble. A loud hiss was heard, and right behind the head, a long reptilian head emerged. Both heads stared at the car she was in.

"GO FASTER!" Ludwig snarled.

"There he is, my dear son!" a woman's voice laughed. A fat woman with green scales as skin, stood behind the lion's blood-coated mane, grinning at them, revealing her sharp teeth. "After them!"


	5. The Dark Side of Pretty Much Everything

Disclaimer : I don't own anything. Just my OCs

~0~

_The Dark Side of Pretty Much Everything_

~0~

The gigantic creature used the lion head as its main head and the snake head as its tail. The body was not a fusion between a lion and a snake, however, but instead its entire body including legs belonged to a goat. From that simple observation alone, Sally instantly knew they were being chased by the Chimera, and if she had to guess, the woman laughing maniacally on his head was his mother, Echidna.

And boy did the Chimera was fast.

Even at full speed and low traffic at their lane, the beast trotted behind them at a surprising speed. Sally could hear the Chimera growling and snarling whenever he was a bit too close, only for the cab to suddenly gain a brief burst of speed.

Sally should've known how much Zeus wanted to kill her sons. Now, she understood that he was behind the first attack at school. Whether he left himself or sent someone else was up to debate, but either way Zeus had a hand in it.

Ludwig kept screaming at the poor guy that got the worst luck to be chosen as their driver, all the while shooting at the Chimera- either at the head, the legs, or the mother. None were effective, Sally feared, and most barely hit the raging monster. It appeared Athena wasn't prepared to have the Mother of Monsters and one of her deadliest child chasing her child.

Unfortunately, the boys could see the Chimera too.

"Mom, what is that?" Percy asked, eyes wide as he stood on the seat, looking at the monster chasing them. The Chimera snarled, and another car veered wildly out of his path.

'_Someone sent to kill you,' _Sally thought somberly. Out loud, she said, "A... creature with a lion's head, a goat's body, and a snake's head as his tail."

Ray sighed. "I don't think Percy meant what that is _literally_, mom."

"Ah," Percival said, glancing at the sideview mirror to look at the Chimera chasing them. "A... that. I didn't know hewants to kill you that bad."

"Who's he?"

Percival stared at him blankly. "The guy that wants to kill you."

"No, I mean the thing that's chasing us."

"That's the thing that wants to kill you."

Before her eldest son could express his annoyance, the Chimera roared, making Percy gasp. The beast took in a deep breath, and unleashed a huge torrent of flame from his maw.

The driver jerked the wheel just in time before the car was turned to cinders. They were lucky, and yet that seemed to be the last straw for Ludwig.

"Zhat is _it_." Ludwig looked at the driver. "You. Move over."

The driver blinked. "What?"

"I said _move_ _over_, _schweindund._"

Then the driver did the last thing Sally expected. He _bleated_.

"_Blaa-haa-haa_! Absolutely not!" the driver snapped. "_When_ was the last time you drove a car, Mr. Schneider?!"

"Your hooves vill only make it harder to drive, Copeland!"

"At least _I _have a driver's license!"

"Not having one does not mean I cannot drive!"

"You two know each other?" Sally cut Copeland from retorting, preventing a full-blown, panic-induced, shouting match in the small cab while they still had a bloodthirsty fusion monster to take care of.

"Ze goat here vas the one Chiron sent to bring us to camp," Ludwig answered with distaste. "I had hoped Chiron vould send someone _at least _moderately competent."

"I can do my job very well, thank you very much," Copeland shot back irritatedly. "Zero deaths had happened because of me, you know."

"_Ja_, because ve are the _zuerst_."

"You two, shut up." Sally sighed. Amazingly, both men (though one was _half_ man half goat) did shut their mouth. "So... you're a satyr?"

Copeland answered by lifting his driver's hat. There were two lumps poking out of his hair. Horns.

"Oh."

So their driver was a satyr. As Copeland lowered the hat to hide his horns again, she wondered : Just who exactly _was _Chiron?

The man messaged her in secret, and _message _didn't cover what the man did at all. She was just slouching on the couch, boredly flicking through channels on the TV, when a hologram image appeared right in front of her face, showing a dark sillhouette of a person.

After recovering from her initial surprise, the person- from the figure's voice, it was revealed to be a man- said that he was Chiron, and he offered a safe haven for her sons. She asked why with the dark environment and he sheepishly explained that the electricity was out. And then Chiron said that he had matters to attend to, and when the hologram disappeared, on the coffee table in front of her, sat a paper with an address and a phone number scrawled in fancy writing.

So this mysterious man had satyrs that worked for him? _What_ was Chiron? A satyr? And yet, his voice, now that she though about it, sounded vaguely familiar...

The car went a bit slower, and Copeland cursed under his breath. After that, the cab's speed was as fast as before. She immediately remembered that a satyr didn't just had horns, they also had hooves instead of legs. She had no idea how an animal could drive- much less an animal that didn't have feet, and unfortunately her concerns were met.

The car slowed down again. The sound of Chimera's hooves pounding against asphalt was louder than before. Copeland groaned.

Ludwig glanced at him irritatedly. "Do tell me how you have managed to live this long, _schaf_."

"Ordinary passengers never minded about my ordinary speed. And ordinary passengers sure as Hell weren't being chased by a mismatched animal demon."

Ludwig shot the Chimera again, and it missed. Far.

"_Schisse!_" Ludwig cursed. "I am an architect, not a soldier!"

Since Ludwig was busy and Copeland was unreliable in a high speed chase involving an ancient monster, an idea struck her.

"Why not let me drive?" Sally asked.

Ludwig just stared at her, and she was pretty sure Copeland's face was as equally as blank. But it was Ray who spoke first. "Mom, you've never touched a steering wheel your whole life."

Sally smiled. "There is always a first thing for everything, Ray."

"_Hast_ _du_ _ein_ _Wahn_ _oder_ _was?_" Ludwig asked her, momentarily forgetting to speak English.

"Er..."

Ludwig coughed to his fist, cheeks suspiciously becoming pink. "Apologies. Vhat I meant to say vas 'Are you sure?'"

Sally nodded, averting her eyes at the rearview mirror, to avoid looking at the charging Chimera. "I'm sure."

Ludwig looked at Copeland. "You have no objections?"

Copeland slumped. "Oh well. At least dying to a car crash won't be as painful as being eaten alive by a lion. I think. Mr. Schneider, hold the steering wheel, please."

As Ludwig did what he was told, Copeland lowered the driver's seat, and unclasped the seatbelt, foot- _hooves_ ascending from the pedals. As he slid backward (Percival had moved out of the way and shook his head at the display), Sally jumped at the driver's seat, grasped the steering wheel just the moment Ludwig let go, and stomped on the pedal.

Ludwig's assumption was right, it appeared. Copeland's hooves were slowing them down. Now they raced through the Brooklyn Bridge at _twice _the speed they were in.

Driving wasn't that hard, she figured. The problem she found hard was driving carefully. Cars swerved out of their path as the cab peeled off on the highway. She ignored the curses those drivers threw their way, but she seriously hoped her kids did so too.

"I hope you know vhat you are doing, _frau_ Jackson," Ludwig muttered, reloading the gun with... _silver bullets_?

"Don't have so little faith in me." Sally grinned. "Hold tight, boys!"

A collective sigh was heard behind her. She just grinned wider and pressed harder on the gas.

Copeland sighed again as they passed a truck. "Thank the gods this car's automatic."

~0~

The lion-goat thing pounced again, only to miss the car entirely. Percy couldn't keep from giggling to himself. The lion kept looking more and more annoyed with every time he failed to catch them. And despite how bad things looked like, Percy still laughed.

"What's funny, Percy?" Ray looked confused.

"I can't help it." Ray grinned. "He's so dumb!"

As if hearing them trash-talking about him, the lion-goat thing roared and let out another fireball. One which mom easily evaded.

"Are you... are you sure zhis is the first time you drove?" Percival's dad asked, speechless.

"Yes." Mom smiled cheerfully at him. "Yes I am."

"You made him mad, Percy," Ray chided, though his older brother was grinning as well.

He merely stuck out a tongue playfully at him, and continued to watch the monster chasing them with a wide grin. The thing kinda reminded him of a cat, and he knew a cat was happy if its tail was raised. In this case, the tail was the snake, and the snake was waving in the wind like a flag, right atop the monster's furry butt.

He snickered again when the snake looked panicked as the body jumped again. It was as if the snake was screaming, what with its mouth opening wide.

"_**STOP**_ _**THE**_ _**VEHICLE**_**,** _**NOW**_!"

A megaphoned voice cut through the sound of screeching tires and screaming people, so Percy turned around to see what was going on.

At the end of the bridge, many police cars were parked, blocking the road, sirens going blue and red. Around them, policemen stood ready, gun aimed at the road. One was holding a megaphone, shouting for the cars to stop. Everyone wasn't staring at them, but instead at the monster. So what vehicle?

"_**I**__**SAID**__**STOP**__**IT**__**NOW**__!_"

"Mom..." Ray warned. Ludwig sat down at the seat and buckled his seat belt, shaking. Beside him, Copeland and Percival also held the car tighter. Probably realizing that, yes, his mom, that had never so much as touched a steering wheel in her life, was planning to crash to a police blockade, his older brother pulled him to his lap, and held him closely.

Mom ignored Ray's warning, however. She stared intently at a slight gap between a police car and the railing at the side of the road/bridge.

"Hold tight!" mom ordered.

Everybody did.

But before mom could burst through the police blockade and adding an angry police force in their problem beside the lion-goat-snake monster, a huge, shadowy black circle appeared in front of them.

"BRAKES!" Ludwig yelled, but it was too late. Mom stomped on the brake, but the car still screeched into the black thing. With muffled screams, they were devoured by the darkness.

~0~

For a while, everything was silent. And dark. And cold. And Percy couldn't see anything. He was also sure that the car wasn't moving. He grasped his brother's hand that still held him, finding warmth in the cold environment.

"Ray...?" he whispered. He really couldn't see a thing. He felt like he was alone.

"I'm here, Percy." Ray's voice came right behind him. He relaxed and leaned back into the embrace. He could feel his older brother resting his chin atop his head, and the assurance that he wasn't, in fact, _alone_ calmed him down.

It was as if he was closing his eyes, but he reached up to touch his eyes, and they were opened. It was so dark, he couldn't tell the outline of the seats, or the people sitting on it. It was like the time where the electricity went out one night in their apartement, but a gajillion times worse. He had no idea how blind people's vision looked like, but he felt that this was how it would be.

"Uh... what is going on?" Copeland, the guy that he guessed was a satyr, said from somewhere on his right.

"I can't see a thing." Percival's voice reported. "Do any of you see anything?"

"_Nein_," Percival's dad answered his son, voice grim. "I cannot see anything as well."

"And I can't open the door, either." Mom sounded confused and worried. "Are your doors locked, too?"

"...Ah, dammit, I can't open mine."

"Neither can I, Mrs. Jackson."

"_Nein_, _frau _Jackson."

And just as abrupt as its appearance, the blackness disappeared. Seriously, Percy just blinked and _poof_. Sunlight entered through the windows, the rumble of the cab's engine could be heard, and he could feel the coldness lifting from the car, the sun's warmth sneaking in.

Percy looked around, still on his brother's lap. "Uh... where are we?"

They were on a tight road, trapped with neat wooden farmhouses and grassy hills on the right, and on their left, there was a sign that read 'PCIK OUYR WON TSAWREBRYR' on a white fence, in front of what seemed to be a farm.

He just stared blankly at the sign, wondering for which alien was that sign supposed to be, before Ray said, also staring at the sign, "Strawberries? How did we end up in a strawberry farm?"

Oh. Strawberries.

Copeland slumped in his seat, though in relief. "Thank the gods! Looks like somebody _is _watching out for us! We're close to camp! Mrs. Jackson, please continue. Just follow the path for another mile or so."

Mom snapped out of her daze. "Oh, right, of course."

And then they were back on their journey to this mysterious camp again. Preferring to sit on his brother's lap, Percy made himself comfortable. Ray didn't say anything. Probably still wondering what just happened.

Just moments before Percy decided to sleep, a familiar-but-not-so-friendly sound shook the car. And it was actually close behind them.

"The gods hate us," Copeland spoke miserably. "I swear."

Percival's dad merely sighed, clearly tired, while mom simply pressed the gas harder. They sped past nothing in particular, just more trees and grass, exactly like he imagined an empty countryside would look.

But nothing happened for a while. They reached a clearing before Copeland yelled, "Stop! Right here!"

Mom stopped the car. They all filed out of the cab, looking around. The clearing was empty, and nothing was there. Just some really tall grass. No camp in sight.

"Where's the camp?" Percival asked Copeland, and Percy knew he was voicing everyone's thoughts.

Copeland pointed at a nearby hill. It looked the same as any other hill they passed before reaching this place.

"In that hill?"

Copeland sighed. "Past that hill. That's the property line. Over that hill, you'll see a huge farm house. C'mon."

And with that announcement, Percival's dad and Copeland unloaded the baggages from the trunk. Percy, holding his mom's hand, looked up at the tall grass. It reached mom's waist. He himself only reached mom's thighs. This journey would not be easy.

"Vhy are the grass not cut?" Percival's dad asked, looking at the waist-high tall grass.

"No idea." Copeland shrugged. "The satyrs that were told to cut these things said that the grass grew back as fast as they cut it."

"_Und _you are one of them?"

Copeland shifted to a different topic. "Well, before we can enter camp, we should ask for someone's permission first. After all, you and Mrs. Jackson are mortals, right? The camp boundaries wouldn't allow anyone other than demigods and satyrs to enter."

"A vaste of time." Percival's dad sighed. "But understandable."

"I know. So we'll just drop off-"

The ground rumbled.

Behind them, the ground exploded. And just like their first meeting, the lion's head poked out of it. Nothing changed very much, but the snake head now wore a police hat. He looked quite happy about it, too.

"Run!" Percival's dad yelled, tossing Percival's baggage to the satyr driver and unholstering his gun at the same time. Mom picked Percy up and started running uphill, Ray following closely behind with Percival, Copeland at their tail, while Percival's dad was last.

"I haff no idea what haffened whefore, whut you're not going away _this_ time!" the fat snake woman yelled, perching atop the lion head as always. She had a donut in one of her hands. It was bitten. "Go, my dear son!"

The lion roared, while the snake looked as if he was cheering, and jumped out of the hole.

Percival's dad prepared his gun again and glanced at the hill. Percy knew what he was thinking. The top looked super far right now.

Copeland sighed and pulled something out of his pocket as he jogged. A wooden flute. He played some really quick notes, facing at the monster, so he was running backwards and yet he didn't look like he had any difficulties. The tall grass around him swayed, as if dancing to the tune, and when he reached a particularly loud not, the grass stretched and shot at the lion-goat-snake monster.

The grass actually made cuts on the monster. But instead of blood, dropping from the cuts were dust. No, not dust, it was more like powder.

Copeland looked proud of himself. "I'll have you know that some Nirvana tunes can even split _stone_!"

The monster was unimpressed. He snarled, and spat a scorching fireball at their direction. Percival's dad, the one closest to him jumped and pushed him away from the blast.

"Nirvana!" Copeland cried. "All shall bow to Nirvana!"

"Silence, _schaf_." Percival's dad ordered. He pulled the satyr up, and started running uphill again. "Can anyone at camp come for our aid?"

"We have to reach the camp first," Copeland reminded him, also following. "Then yes, they can help."

"Good enough." Percival's dad grunted. As they ran, he looked around, scanning their environment, Percy guessed. His eyes landed on Percival and said son's friend. He took a deep breath, then he shouted, "_PERCIVAL_! _RAY_! Go on ahead and get some help!"

Both, wide-eyed, started to protest, but Percival's dad cut them off loudly. "Ve vill be fine! You're the fastest ve have- go get help!"

It was the monster that persuaded them, out of all `peop- creatures. The beast let out a flamebreath instead of a flameball this time, burning the tall grass, narrowly missing the two men at the back of their group.

That was enough to persuade them. They bolted up to the pine tree, passing those in the front. That included Percy and mom. As the two boys passed them, his older brother yelled, "Be careful, you two!"

Mom nodded, while he himself yelled back, "We will!"

He was scared, to be honest. And since his big brother left them, he was deathly afraid now. But he felt excitement, dodging fireballs and bloodthirsty monsters. Percival's dad's gun let out silver bursts whenever he shot, and Copeland's magic before was really cool.

He was anxious to see more cool things in the future. Though he really wished it wouldn't be in a life and death situation.

~0~

The camp was weird, Ray decided. It wasn't impressive, nor _un_impressive. It was, instead, unexpected. Of course, Percival and him weren't here for scenery so they just dashed toward the biggest house in the vicinity, hoping that the big house was the place where the one in charge stayed.

A sharp pain went through his stomach, making him gasp and stop running. He clutched at his stomach, since the source of the pain seemed to be there. Percival glanced at him, annoyed but concerned at the same time.

"What is it now, Jackson?" he asked. Ray could tell he was trying not to sound irritated.

"Nothing." Ray shook his head. "Nothing, I just... let's get that help."

Percival eyed him weirdly, but followed either way.

The kids that Ray guessed were the campers stared at them as they ran from the pine tree to the big house, stopping from playing basketball. Those half-people half-sheep things, satyrs, ignored them, and instead played their flutes at a nearby strawberry farm, and the plants swayed. Just like Copeland's, but instead of aggressively coiling like a snake, they moved pleasantly, like dancing to the music.

"Is the man in charge here?" Percival's voice cut off Ray's awe. Looking to his best friend, he realized that Percival was talking to an older camper near the big house.

"Sorry, but Chiron is away at the moment." The camper answered. "And Mr. D isn't really somebody you want to ask for... what are you two doing here, anyway? How did you get in here?" the camper stared at them suspiciously, as if expecting them to be a couple of trublemakers.

Not that the guy was technically wrong. Still, Ray got annoyed either way. "Why do you think we're here?! We need help!" he snapped. "My brother and my mom is trying to reach this stupidly faraway place while being chased by a goddamn Chimera, so we need-!"

**BOOOOM!**

The explosion shook the ground. The campers playing at the field gasped, and even the satyrs stopped playing. The older camper snapped his neck up to see at the hilltop, and he paled when he saw edges of black flames creeping into view. Then he abruptly whirled around and started shouting orders. "There are some mortals that need our help outside camp boundaries! I want archers-"

Ray tuned him out. He had run back towards the hill the moment he saw the black flames, Percival in tow.

When they finally reached the hilltop, he could feel his heart hammering his ribs, afraid at the sight that awaited his behind the hill. The pain in his stomach only felt like it multiplied. The sound of the lion-goat-snake monster thing's tortured roars could be heard across the hillside.

The black flames didn't seem to dare to enter through the camp boundaries, so he hoped that what Copeland said before was true and whatever it was that protected camp was strong enough to withstand the weird fire.

"Where are they?" he muttered, eyes uselessly flicking through curtains of blackness, to the small glimpses of what was happening behind them.

"Ray," Percival called out, and he envied his best friend to be able to be so calm at the moment. "Look. No smoke."

He glanced up. True to what he said, the black smoke where normal flames would produce was nonexistent.

"And why on Earth does that matter?" Ray didn't mean to be so snappish, really, but he was panicking.

"The flame creates mist." Percival observed, ignoring his tone. "That means..."

As his best friend said this, he stepped closer to the raging 'fire,' hand outstretched. Ray was wondering whether or not he was wrong about Percival being calm and instead his German friend had gone off to the deep end.

"Ah." Percival narrowed his eyes. Instead of saying anything, Percival stepped through the flames as if it was nothing.

"Percival! What the heck are you doing?!" Ray shouted, panicking even more. People were getting more and more crazy today- mom almost barging through a police blockade, and now Percival forgot that flame could burn all of a sudden.

Percival's voice, and yelp, rang from the flame. "I-it's okay, J-Jackson! Th-the fire i-isn't hot!"

Yep. Definitely gone off the deep end.

And yet, now that he tried to think more clearly, he could- or, more specifically, could _not _feel the heat. He stood just a few meters from the two-foot high blackness, but they didn't exclude any warmth whatsoever. In fact, as he walked closer, the flames were... _cold_.

Ray held out a hand. Yes, the billowing darkness was cold instead of hot. He glanced down. The grass where the fire was on were covered in a thin layer of frost, instead of turning into ashes.

Now he could add one more unexplainable thing into the weird phenomenons that happened today; ice-cold black flame.

"W-what are y-you waiting for, R-Ray?!" Percival stuttered from over the fire. "J-just bloody j-jump or s-something!"

Ludwig- Percival's dad- would have a fit if he heard his son exclaiming the word 'bloody.' Regardless, Ray did jump through the frost-fire, bracing himself.

And oh was it so _cold_. If there was one thing that he could compare it too, it was last January when he fell into a frozen like by accident. The icy surface was extremely slippery, so he and his brother tried to skate on it, mom watching them. Then he, expectedly, slipped, and the impact between his forehead and the lake's frozen surface was so strong the frozen lake cracked and he fell into it.

He was inside the freezing lake for at least fifteen seconds before some other park-dwellers pulled him out. He kept stammering after he got outside the lake, shivering, dizzy, and by the horrified looks of people around him he could only guess that his forehead was bleeding from the impact.

And even though it happened in a split-second, the flame was ten times colder than that fifteen seconds experience. He could feel the frost coating his fingers and face, his hoodie became colder and heavier, like it was doused with an icy bucket of water, and he swore his hair was frozen.

When the blackness dissipated, the sight that greeted him was Percival, also in his frozen clothes. He was shivering, and he was rubbing his own elbows. Even then, the jerk had the nerve to look amused.

Ray shot him a quick glare. "A w-warning w-would b-be n-nice..."

"I d-didn't get a-any warning s-so it's o-only fair y-you don't g-get one, e-either."

Ray wanted to retort, but God it was so cold. His teeth chattered against each other, and being in close proximity with the frost-fire wasn't helping any.

"L-let's find th-them," Ray stammered.

Percival simply nodded. It didn't need to take long to find them, because the flame only made a large circle on the hill. In the center, there were his brother, now standing on the ground and holding mom's hand, Ludwig and Copeland in front of them, gun and flute trained at the monster.

And said monster was writhing on the ground, roaring in pain, covered in black flames. Even at this distance, he could feel the heat radiating off from it. He heard a woman's scream within the blackness, and he knew the fat snake lady was burning too. So there were hot black flames, and cold black flames.

Good to know?

Percy was the first to saw him. His eyes widened. "Ray!"

"Mom! Percy!" Ray shouted back, running at them. "A-are you o-okay?!"

Ray scanned his family quickly. At first glance, there didn't seem to be any obvious injuries, apart from the frost that caked their eyelashes and hair. Still, there was this thing called hypothermia and they might as well freeze to death in here.

Mom nodded, but she looked worried. She looped an arm around his little brother and held him close. "We're fine, I think, but it's cold..."

Ludwig glanced at him. "Vhat are you doing here, Ray? And vhere are zhe reinforcements?"

"Th-they're t-too slow," Percival answered, catching up. "Oh, g-goodness, it's s-so cold!"

"Then _vhy_ are you here, _kleiner junge_?"

"We w-were w-worried."

Ludwig sighed. "Zhat is foolish. Zhough I do not think ve vill still need that help."

In retrospect, Ludwig was correct. It was stupid. If Ludwig, who had a gun, couldn't do anything against the school-bus sized creature, what chance did he have?

"AHHH!" snake lady screamed, still inside the fire. "A curse upon you! Whoever you are!"

A pressure appeared inside Ray's mind, clouding it with darkness. His vision became blurry and weird, but he could tell that the area they were in darkened considerably. The sunlight dimmed, and he could see his own shadow moving on its own.

**A curse upon me...? I did not know you were this insolent, little lizard. **A deep voice rumbled the hillside.

A dark presence made itself known. Vision of creatures that lurked in the dark, of madness caused by shadows, of the darkness itself forced themselves into his clouded mind. For a moment, he forgot about anything happening around him, about everyone around him, and focused his attention at the constant ringing in his brain.

The black burning fire dissipated from the monster. Half of the lion's head was scorched, while the other half was badly wounded, the goat's wool was gone, showing the pink skin underneath, and the snake head simply became a burnt stump.

The snake woman, green scales burnt so bad it became gray, hissed, looking around. "Who dares to disturb me?!"

The presence ignored her. **Yes... **The presence spoke amusedly.** When you were but a little reptile, Echidna, you were not as arrogant as now. Perhaps time, indeed, changes everyone.**

"Show yourself!"

**I would rather not. However, do not think just because I do not 'show myself' I will not do anything to you.**

Instead of looking afraid, the snake lady, Echidna, bared her fangs at nothing in particular. The monster, that was now only a mix of a wounded lion and a shaved goat, mewled pitifully, not having enough strength to stand up.

**Goodbye. I cannot have you killing them, now can I?**

The ringing turned into a horrible whine. A painfullyloud terrifying whine echoed in his head. Just after Ray was sure his head was going to explode from the sound, black spikes burst forth from within Echidna- one particularly large one from her stomach, another from her head, sprouting upwards, and tiny spikes from several other surfaces on her body. Her face frozen in shock, and then she fell down, immediately disintegrating into dust the moment she hit the ground.

Black flames erupted around the lion-goat beast. It burned effectively than ever. Before the monster could even let out even a small sound, he was already reduced to ashes.

Ray winced at the brutal display, but he limped in front of his shocked mom and brother. "W-who are you?!"

Of course, the shout was probably more effective if he wasn't deathly afraid and still shivering, but he hoped the presence could make the gist of it.

When the being turned his full attention to him, he suddenly found it difficult to stand. Whoever he was, he was something far more different than an ordinary monster. Something far more powerful, and perhaps even something far more terrible.

**Ahh... yes... Regulus, is it not? **

The whine became louder. It physically hurt his brain.

**Hm... you are him. And that... of course, Perseus.**

Behind him, Percy shuddered.

**I suppose you two are now indebted to me now, are you? **The being spoke. **Well, I will be waiting for the moment you two will pay your debts to me. **

Just like that, the presence left his mind. His mind cleared of the maddening thoughts, he dropped to his knees, breathing raggedly. Around them, the black flames dissipated, both the frost and ashes disappeared as if it wasn't there in the first place, the heat and cold dissolving.

But Ray could still see it- could _feel _it. The visions in the darkness. The creatures, the beings that lived within the blackness. The _whispers_.

He barely noticed when something fell behind him, when mom shouted, "Percy!"

Instead when the maddening dark pressure disappeared, he more than welcomed the comforting blackness of unconsciousness.


	6. Cabin Eleven, For the God of Prankster

Warning : Exposition.

Disclaimer : I own nothing.

~0~

_Cabin Eleven, for the God of Pranksters_

~0~

"_ARE YOU RETARDED?!" _the odd tree woman who was one of the healer had screeched at them. _"He just had stomach surgery and you think it's a good idea to make him run uphill and downhill TWICE?!"_

In hindsight, yes, it was the stupidest decision they had made all week, that triumphed over other stupid decisions all they had done combined. In their defense, in that madness hours ago, none of them remembered that Ray had gotten a stomach surgery to remove his damaged internal organs, and he himself didn't seem to realize it.

That somewhat sufficed as the explanation on how Ray fainted. But that didn't give the healers any clue why _Percy _was knocked out cold as well.

One of the possible causes was exhaustion, but that didn't seem too likely. Percy didn't look even the slightest of winded after that chase at the bridge and the ambush at the hill on the same day, so Percival figured that Percy, in actuality, _still _had energy to spare.

Of course, the other explanation was that weird black cold and hot fire thing that affected his mind, and that was the most plausible explanation there was. The problem was that, if the flames were indeed the case, the healers had no idea what to do in the situation.

The good thing was that the brothers were simply asleep. The healers said that they were healthy, just a few scrapes and bruises here and there. Why they were asleep the healers had no idea, but they weren't in a coma or anything like that. Regardless, they told them to not wake the boys yet, seeing that their brain was probably recovering from that mental assault.

Thankfully, the healers had these ambrosia and nectar- the food and drinks of the gods, so apparently Ray didn't need to worry too much about his stomach. The divine food could heal the wounds of demigods, the healers said, no matter whether it was internal nor otherwise.

This explanation was needed to be told over and over again to a hysteric Sally, who became more and more distressed when she saw her sleeping children. So much in fact, that _the _Chiron- who was actually Mr. Brunner's true identity, surprise surprise- had to knock her out with some sleeping dust.

Father was exhausted, especially since before all this insanity began he was working overtime for a new building near Queens, so he fell asleep immediately at the closest couch. Copeland left again, going to help demigods that, he then jokingly added, were being chased by a fire-breathing wyvern.

So Percival was left to his own devices.

But he had no idea what to do with his devices.

He would have read his book (The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes, a book that Ray founded severely depressing, though Percival and his father had no idea why), but he left it at Copeland's cab and since all the shenanigans that had been happening, he forgot to ask the satyr to get it. He really didn't want to leave his father when he was resting right now, but no one except him was awake at the moment.

Sitting while fidgeting his fingers on a chair just accompanied by sleeping people didn't sit well with him, so he stepped outside.

Mr. Bru- Chiron, in his centaur final form, a white stallion minus the head and neck waist down and an old scruffy teacher waist up, stood at the porch, watching as _armored_ campers stood at the camp borders and checked the strength of their barrier.

On one side, there was a view of oddly shaped cabins that was different from each other, surrounding several other structures in the middle. Interestingly enough, every single one of them were based off Greek architecture. Another view was simply the sea, and the valley, and no more significant things.

"Chiron," Percival greeted, standing beside his... teacher. Former teacher. What was he now?

"Percival," Chiron greeted back. "How are they?"

"They're asleep."

A slight smile appeared on Chiron's face. "Good."

Silently, both stared at the hill as one of the campers poked at the ground where the fire was with his sword, before carefully putting his foot on the spot.

"That thing wasn't a monster."

"No," Chiron agreed. "It was not."

Percival waited for an explanation to follow. When none was said, he spoke up, "What- who_ was_ it?"

Chiron's expression darkened. "I have a hunch, lad. Let's just hope it isn't true." He looked down the steps when one of the campers stumbled after them. "Yes?"

"No damage, Chiron," the camper reported. "At least, no damage _visible_, so they want to see if any magical effects are on the barrier. They want to test it, Chiron."

Chiron nodded. "Proceed, child."

As the camper went back to the camp's barrier, Percival spoke, a bit quietly, "It's true? The Olympians..."

"Indeed. The Greek gods are-"

"Is there a way for me to find out who my mother is?"

Chiron thought about it for a moment. "Two, I believe. The first is the easiest and the simplest; being claimed. The proof of being claimed could be anything, though the most common ones are hologram-like apparition that would appear above your head."

Percival reined in his smile. The owl was a proof that he was Athena's son- a proof that he had a mother. The idea was reassuring, and being right always felt good.

"Second are evidences," Chiron continued, eyes slowly leaving the campers as one of them pulled out a phone, surrounded by other campers with shields up. "Your half-blood powers, for one. If you can control vegetation and plants, it will be safe to assume that you are a child of Demeter. If you are good at making things, you may be a child of Hephaestus. Like those instances."

Percival raised a hand. Chiron stared at him for a few seconds, before a small smile grew on his face. "Yes?"

He lowered his hand. "Do speaking with things other than humans count?"

"Yes. What's the matter, lad? You can speak with animals?"

"Only owls."

Chiron hummed, looking back at the group of campers huddling together at the top of the hill. "Owls? Fascinating... owls are Lady Athena's sacred animals."

Yes, yes they are indeed.

"I think you're mistaken, sir." Percival said. "There are more than two ways of knowing who my godly parent is."

"Oh?" Chiron smiled. "What is it, then?"

"Parent. My father told me my mother is Athena right before we arrived here."

Chiron chuckled. "Yes, that is correct too. Then, does this belong to you?"

A black handgun with an owl carving on its handle was handed to him.

"A modified Springfield XDs," Chiron spoke, impressed. "And with adamantite bullets, no less. A gift from your mother, I presume?"

"Yes." What were adamantite Percival had no idea, but he guessed that 'modified Springfield XDs' was the gun.

"It's good to know that your mother cares about you, even to the point of giving gifts. I doubt Lady Athena would let someone break rules."

If 'caring your children' meant 'breaking rules,' then the Greek deities needed their priorities sorted out.

While Chiron started explaining about all the features in camp, reaching to the point of promoting it like a some kind of salesman, Percival moved his eyes to the cabin area, and the garden and basketball field in the middle of it.

His attention wasn't pointed at that, either. His thoughts were elsewhere. Namely, his best friend.

Based by the explanation the day the school was attacked, Ray's hologram was different. And if his own owl hologram was any indication, then that meant children of a different god had different holograms as a sign of being 'claimed.'

The Goddess Athena's children had owls as a sign, and if he were to guess, then Zeus probably had something akin to lightning bolts and the such, Apollo had the sun, Hephaestus had... anvils or hammers, maybe? Then Ares may had a some sort of weapon, Hermes had his cadeceus, and the such. But they hardly mattered.

No, it was Ray's hologram that mattered. He explained that his hologram was the image of a three-tipped spear. A trident. And the only Greek deity he knew that had a trident as their symbol was Poseidon.

And this bothered Percival. If memory served correctly, and he was pretty sure his memory rarely failed him, Poseidon was one of the oldest gods, and perhaps one of the strongest. His domain was the sea, so that was to be expected. His reach was wide, and he had an army of countless sea creatures at his command. Maybe even a few sea monsters.

And yet... and yet, if _that_ was true, if Ray was indeed Poseidon's son, then why the bloody hell did he just let his son suffer like that? The shooter that made his best friend ended up in hospital covered in bloody bandages, and the monster- the _Chimera _that chased after them- why didn't Poseidon do anything?

Athena too, for that matter. Though, he supposed, that gun she gave them was... somewhat... useful.

Percival quietly took a breath. It had been a while since his brain worked tirelessly like that, and it felt good. The questions in his mind made him think more and more, opening up new questions after questions, though his lack of information was quite infuriating.

A thud brought him back. He stared at the camp borders, and Percival realized that the campers had unsheathed their weapons, but none were attacking. They just watched as a literal _rhino-sized demon-dog _with glowing red eyes and teeth similar to a saw scratched and bit at empty air in front of them. As if a barrier was holding it back.

Beside Percival, Chiron sighed in relief. "Thank the gods. The barrier's still fully functional."

Sharing his thoughts, campers that carried bows on the camp border unleashed their arrows at the creature, and before long, the beast fell and melted into shadows.

Which was eerily familiar. Percival involuntarily shuddered when he remembered that blackness slowly freezing over him. Not a good experience, 0/10.

And that darkness was one of his problems, too. For a while, Ray and Percy were just... transfixed at nothing, really. The snake lady also screamed things like 'Who are you?!' and 'Show yourself!' so there was obviously somebody causing it to appear. But who? And _why_ save them?

By now, the campers- _demigods_\- had returned from the border, chatting and sharing jokes and pushing each other around as they dispersed to their respectful cabins.

Interestingly enough, most entered the gray cabin with a design of an owl on top of its doorway and the blood red cabin with a stuffed boar head on its, while all the archers entered the incredibly, painfully bright golden cabin.

So each demigods had their own particular set of skills? Very intere-

Percival mentally slapped himself. _Of_ _course _the demigods had their own particular set of skill. Their parents weren't Gods of _Everything_. There was the God of the Sky, God of the Sea, God of the Underworld, Goddess of Wisdom, and so on so forth.

He doubted children of the god Dionysus was good at... say, _combat_ as the children of the god Ares, and likewise children of Ares at making good wine as well as Dionysus'.

So, each single one of these campers had their own useful skill. So varying, so plenty, and (one might say) so random, he could not _not _know its full potential and use it to his advantage one way or another.

Percival looked at the centaur. "I will be checking the cabins."

Chiron nodded, but he was clearly distracted by something. "You may go. Though I advise you return before they wake up."

"Sundown, then."

~0~

The camp was odd, needless to say.

Other than the fascinating architecture and the _more_ fascinating dwellers in said architectures, there was the matter of the _twelve different _fascinating architectures.

And not to mention the blazing firepit, the roofless mess hall where the campers ate (because apparently Chiron expected them to eat in the middle of a rainfall), the _arena _where campers fought with _real weapons_, and other odd buildings and statues.

All in the middle of the twelve fascinating cabins, surrounded by the forest around them, which emitted growling sounds whenever he walked too close.

Ah yes, the cabins. There were twelve of them, which was understandable, since there were twelve Olympians and all that. Because there were twelve Olympians and twelve cabins, one might consider the gods to be a cabin's sponsor, so to say.

Percival looked to his left. A huge building with the brass number '1' nailed above the, get this, _bronze doors with lightning bolts effects on it._ It practically screamed 'KING' and since the King of the Gods was Zeus, the cabin probably belonged to Zeus.

And it was empty. Well, sans that huge ten-feet tall statue in the middle of the room, but mostly empty.

That was confusing. And maybe even unnerving. In the books he had read in history, children of Zeus were _plenty_, and that was putting it mildly. It was as if Zeus had a mating frenzy once in a week and traveled the mortal land to search for women to sleep with, regardless of his _supposed _wife, Hera, felt about it. Now, the cabin was empty, devoid of life.

Percival instantly remembered this morning, about Percy's dream.

"_The child of Poseidon is still alive!"_

Did bloody _Zeus himself _had a hand in the attacks? And what did that dream-satyr meant by 'The child of Poseidon is still alive'? He was pretty sure his best friend didn't do anything that could possibly cause unfathomable rage from the King of the Gods, and the only thing that _may _be the cause from the statement was simply the fact that Ray was-

A cold shudder ran down Percival's spine, and his eyes widened ever-so-slightly.

Don't tell him... was Ray hunted down because he was _simply Poseidon's son?!_ If that was true, then...

Percival narrowed his eyes, and ran to the cabin beside cabin one- cabin three, the tough-looking cabin with seashell-embedded stone walls. Akin to the first cabin, it was empty.

Looking around, he didn't see anything that could pinpoint any cabin that looked like it belonged to Hades. It only added more evidence to his suspicion.

If Ray was, in fact, hunted down because of his heritage, then that meant something happened- something that banned demigods from the oldest gods from being born. Demigods like Ray would be killed, for some reason, and if these empty cabins were any indication... were the previous children... _slaughtered_?

Percival shuddered once more of the implication, but that didn't seem too far-fetched. Present demigods of the oldest gods were hunted down and killed, pretty much like animals. What separated them from the _old_ demigods? The ones that were born before this... ban- this rule- was put in motion. Were they killed off too?

Percival continued walking along the lines of the odds cabins. His fists were clenched. Whatever happened, only one thing was clear. _No one _must know that Ray was a child of Poseidon. If someone found out... then surely Ray's life was forfeit.

No, he could not- he would _never _let that happen. Ray was his only, best, and first friend, and he'd be damned if Ray would die before him.

~0~

The odds were for the gods, while the evens were for the goddesses. One of the older campers from cabin six- Percival's cabin- answered his question about the empty cabins. She said that since the World War Two, which was pretty much a war between children of Zeus plus Poseidon against children of Hades, the Big Three, the three oldest gods, made an oath to never have anymore mortal children. 'Too powerful,' they seemingly reasoned.

Hence the empty cabin number one and three. Cabin two was for Hera, and unlike her husband, she was loyal to her marriage. Cabin eight was for the goddess Artemis, the moon goddess. She was a maiden for life, and that obviously meant she would never have kids.

Percival remembered that his mother, Athena, was _supposed _to be a maiden, but perhaps she changed her mind or something?

Regardless, Ray was a forbidden child of Poseidon, and because of that, Zeus wanted to kill him. And if he was anything like his brother, then it was not too odd to assume that Hades would want to kill his best friend too.

So, _two_ out of _three_ most powerful gods of Olympus wanted to kill Ray. But Percival was nothing but determined, so if he wanted Ray to live, then by the gods he would make it reality.

But the 'how' was another matter. Indeed, how could someone like Ray, who apparently had a stronger scent than the average demigod since his father was Poseidon and all that jazz, hide from murderers who could detect that scent in a place practically ruled by said murderers?

It was impossible. But, they were children of gods, and that was impossible, so he supposed they would need to break the rule of logic once more over here.

Now, since they practically lived within the world of monsters and gods, surely a thing such as magic existed as well, no? And so, equipped with information from the older Athena campers, Percival headed back toward the Big House (an irritatingly uncreative name) to search for the poem, Illiad.

Mist was the perfect answer he was searching for. One might consider it a some type of illusion magic, what with its property of shrouding things and making it look like how the caster wanted it to be, or a suggestion type of magic, since it could be used to manipulate the minds of everyone.

He only needed to search for a way to learn it, and force Ray to learn it too. This could prove beneficial to their survival, and he would not throw this useful tool away.

When he arrived, he was not too surprised to see Ray already awake, while the others still in the land of dreams. It was near sundown, after all.

"So you think that was Hades?" Ray asked, eyebrows furrowing.

"Yes," Chiron spoke, still in his centaur final form.

"But... why would Hades help us?"

"Who knows?"

Ray blinked. "Why would I be offended?"

Percival chose this moment to make his appearance known. "I heard that a god would only help mortals if they are expecting something in return."

One of the secret sons of Poseidon sat on a chair, holding a glass of golden liquid- nectar. Ray's hair was messy, his hoodie crumpled, and Percival instantly knew his friend had only awakened recently. Chiron stood near the railing, his tail swishing anxiously. For some reason, the old teacher seemed to think that the wooden floor was absolutely fascinating.

Then Percival shrugged. "Though I doubt we can do anything to appease a god."

Ray examined him for a second, then raised an eyebrow. "Where's your book, nerd?"

"Silence, you insect."

"You dare, gnat?"

The edge of his lips quirked upwards, but he didn't say anything else. Truthfully, he was glad to see Jackson already up and about. Ray's eyes held no confusion nor disbelief- it appeared that he had accepted the truth about Mr. Brunner was actually _the_ Chiron himself, the teacher of countless ancient heroes.

Instead of confusion and disbelief however, were wariness and fear. So it also appeared that he had found out about his parentage, and the dangers it brought with it. Ha, Percival knew he didn't befriend him for nothing.

"You're back, Percival." Chiron looked up at him. "What do you think about the camp?"

"I suppose I'll get used to it eventually."

"A good answer as any. Though, I apologize, but you must 'get used to it' a little faster, my boy. To think that the Mother of Monsters herself chased after you... you will need all the help you can get, child."

True, he would need all the possible help he could get. He thought that Copeland had joked about the 'fire-breathing wyvern' before he left this morning but now he wasn't so sure. If the Mother of Monsters, Echidna, was real, then why not a fire-breathing wyvern, as well? He absolutely _needed_ help.

"In that case," Percival said, looking at Chiron. "Do you have a translated copy of Illiad I can borrow, by any chance?"

~0~

"_Schisse_." Percival's dad groaned when he entered the front porch. "Please do not tell me I have to deal with _two_ Percivals."

Both Percivals stared at him. Both were indeed very identical, from the disheveled blond hair falling down near the base of the neck, to the wrinkles and dirt stains on the clothes. Chiron, sitting in his wheelchair beside them, smiled weakly.

"Very good, child," Chiron said. "It would seem you have an affinity for using the Mist, Ray. That is very good indeed."

The two Percivals looked back at him, and one of them grinned. Slowly, swirling mist surrounded that grinning Percival, and when it disappeared, Ray Jackson stood at where the other Percival was.

"I do not think I have enough sleep..." Percival's dad mumbled.

"I can use illusions now," Ray said disbelievingly. Then he puffed his chest out proudly. "No one can stand in my way now!"

"Illusion's pathetic," Percival said matter-of-factly.

"No one asked for your opinion, you aviatic-"

Percival raised an eyebrow, and cut him off before he could finish that insult. "But I'd be lying if I said it won't be useful."

"...Thanks for your opinion, my friend."

Percival rolled his eyes. Ray was absolutely giddy. Illusions! Magic! Ha, and he thought all this time those were merely fiction. He could think of countless uses for this Mist his friend and centaur teacher spoke of, and all held merit one way or another.

But the most important of all, was that he could now conceal his appearance. Since now he knew that Ares, the God of War, had wanted to kill him because 'he was born into this world', he now had a way to protect himself. He was just a kid, and Ares was a GOD. The best course of action, Ray thought, was to keep tricking said god and all other immortal beings he would meet that he really hoped he wouldn't in the future and find the nearest exit.

Ray had instantly picked on Percival's idea on using illusions to hide himself the moment he asked about the Mist. He could use Illiad as a key for his survival. He couldn't be more grateful towards his best friend.

"Since I trust zhere are no more repercussions left," Percival's dad spoke up. "I believe now is ze time for us to go home."

Chiron nodded. "It would be best if Percy leaves before he can see anything in camp."

"Wait, you mean I won't even get to say goodbye?" Ray's eyes widened.

"It's for the best, child."

Ray looked down. The less a demigod knew, the less threat that demigod would attract. That pretty much summed up Chiron's explanation. He didn't want to not say goodbye to his little brother, but he definitely didn't want Percy to attract monsters' attention.

Ray wanted to kick himself. Gods, he was being selfish. Just for a mere goodbye, he dared to risk his brother's safety. No, he better not wake Percy up.

"...Yeah, you're right." Ray sighed heavily. "But- but at least let me say goodbye to mom."

Chiron smiled, not unkindly. "Of course you can, Ray." He slowly stood up from his magic wheelchair, revealing his lower horse body, and ignoring Percival's dad's look. Then Chiron motioned for him to come with him, and Ray followed.

When they entered the living room where mom and Percy were asleep, the former was thankfully awake, looking older and more tired than Ray had ever seen before. All in all, mom looked positively terrible.

She was frowning as she sat there, watching Percy's chest as it rose and fell rhythmically, indicating that his brother was still happy in dream realm.

"He's okay, right Chiron?" Ray asked, even though he knew the answer himself.

"He is, child."

Hearing their voices, mom turned around to look at them, and the relief on her face when she saw him was overwhelming. She stood up while he himself ran at her, latching on to her legs.

Good thing Percival wasn't here, else that owl-faced worm-eating jerk might've had ammunition for blackmail.

"Oh, Ray," mom whispered, kneeling down and putting her own hands around him. "Thank goodness you're alright."

Despite himself, Ray smiled. "That's my line, mom."

Mom pulled back, and there was an amused, if not weary, smirk on her face. "No, I'm pretty sure it's mine.

"And why is that?"

"Because I said so."

Ray faked a frown. "You're abusing your right as a parent and I don't approve it, mom."

She laughed softly, calming his nerves, and ruffled his hair. He was glad that the entire event about that escape from a firebreathing fusion demon didn't rattle his mom even a bit. In all honesty, mom was stronger than he ever hope could be.

Then her smile faltered slightly when he heard the sqeal of Chiron's wheelchair as he approached them. For the first time in his life, Ray suddenly had the urge to throw the nearest object at his old teacher for ruining his mother's mood.

"Chiron." Mom acknowledged, somewhat stiffly.

"Mrs. Jackson." Chiron failed at holding back the sigh. He probably noticed mom's tone. "How do you feel?"

"I could be worse."

Chiron looked displeased about something. "But you could definitely be better, as well."

Mom shrugged, and decided to play with Ray's hair, as if to show her total indifference to the whole ordeal. Chiron coughed politely to his fist.

"Mrs. Jackson," the old teacher called once more, in a more softer tone. "My deepest apologies, but I'm afraid you and Percy will have to leave before he wakes up."

Mom tensed, clutching his hair a bit tighter ("Ouch, mom."), and her reluctance was obvious. She leaned down and clasped her hands on his cheeks, and he was glad more than ever that Percival wasn't here to see this. Mom's eyes glistened, and Ray could tell the tell-tale sign she was about to cry if pressured anymore.

So, using the Mist, he wrote the sentence '_Please go away for a moment_' on his back, hoping that the writing did appear and Chiron saw it.

Ever so slowly, Chiron's wheelchair sqeaked again, indicating that he was using it, and the sound became more and more muffled, until complete silence engulfed the room. He also heard Chiron muttering something about oiling the tires.

Ray put his arms around his mother when she knelt down and hugged him again. "Mom..."

Mom shushed him by holding his tighter. "Please, Ray. Just for another minute."

And so, they merely held each other in their arms for indeed another minute, an agonizing minute which Ray knew mom was desperately holding back tears. He understood the cruel fate that was playing here- a mother that nearly lost her child due to an incident, then they were finally reunited, only to be separated hours later for the child's own good. What kind of mother wouldn't?

Mom slowly pulled back from the embrace, only for her to connect their foreheads, and Ray saw the tears running down mom's cheeks. She was crying, only silently.

"I never wanted this to happen, you know," she murmured. "All I wanted is just all of us to have a normal life."

Ray couldn't help but smile and try to lift mom's emotions. "But normal is so boring, mom."

Mom choked out a laugh. When her laughter died down, some seriousness formed in her eyes.

"Try to be good, alright?"

"Oh, your faith in me is bringing tears into my eyes."

Mom grinned slightly. "And eat your vegetables, too."

"Tell _that_ to Percy."

"Don't forget to drink milk, Ray."

"What am I, four?"

She laughed a bit. "Just be safe, okay Ray?"

Ray raised an eyebrow. "Did you forgot who you were talking too? I'm the very image of safe."

She smiled and hugged him once more. "Whatever you say, my little safety captain."

"Maybe I _should_ start drinking milk," Ray wondered out loud, forever grateful that Percival wasn't around to hear that demeaning title. "So that you'd stop treating me like I'm four."

She chuckled and stood up, walking away. Presumably to search for her bag. Now Ray was alone with his sleeping brother.

He stared at Percy. Merely six years old... truly, that wasn't the age for someone to start experiencing these nerve-wracking events. This life of a demigod was simply not for the faint of heart, and there were many enemies out there that would take their life if they ever found out they were children of Poseidon.

He never wanted to give such a life to his little brother. But unfortunately, it was inevitable.

Sighing, Ray kissed Percy's forehead. "Be safe at home, Percy. And see you in a month."

Percy just mumbled in his sleep, not noticing him.

Mom returned later with her bug slung over her shoulder. Then, she carefully lifted Percy up in her arms as to not wake him up, and together they stepped into the front porch.

Percival's dad had a frown on his face and sorrow in his eyes as he stared at the sea. Percival now had the gun that his dad used in the escape in his left hand, his briefcase near his feet, and now a four-foot long sword with a gleaming silver blade and crossguard, with a white soft-looking fabric on its hilt. There was- you guessed it- a carving of an owl on the crossguard, spreading its wings.

Obviously, it was too large for Percival. Still, it looked awesome, but Percival barely paid it any attention- he was too busy looking sad and looking _at_ his father. From what Ray could guess, his dad probably said some farewell words to him, and now neither were ready to leave the other.

He looked at wheelchair form Chiron, and the guy beside him. And then he did a double take at the guy.

The dude had many eyes, and that was an understatement. Every bit of skin Ray could see, was covered with blue eyes. Eye-guy wore a chaperone suit, so the only extra vision organs he could see was on the guy's neck, hands, and various places around his head, not just on the front.

Chiron smiled sadly at them when he saw them. "Mr. Schneider, Mrs. Jackson, meet Argus." The chaperone guy waved. "He will be the one driving you two home."

Percival's dad nodded glumly, and Argus walked around the house, probably going at whatever the ride this camp had. If they only had chariots instead of cars, Ray wouldn't be surprised.

Instead of following him, Percival's dad turned to his son, and ruffled his hair affectionately. "Be safe, Percival," he whispered. "Good luck."

Percival nodded, and he didn't seem to protest even when his dad's hand lingered on his head for a few more seconds. Ray couldn't blame him- the guy looked seriously sad.

Ray was pulled from his surroundings when mom kissed his forehead, not unlike what he did to his brother moments before. She was careful to not drop Percy as she knelt down in front of him. "Be safe, alright, Ray?" she whispered, tearfully, making Ray's insides squirmed uncomfortably. "And don't..." she trailed off, not able to finish the sentence.

Regardless, Ray could hear the unsaid word. _Don't_ _die_.

Ray gave his mom what he hoped to be a reassuring smile. "I won't, mom. I promise."

Mom smiled back at him, obviously forced, and walked away, Percival's dad following silently.

For a moment, everything was silent. No one said a thing, and the only noises there were the shouts of the campers playing basketball and the satyrs' music at the strawberry field.

Ray was the first to break it. "Nice sword."

Percival nodded, but he didn't say anything else. He looked down at the blade, and slowly, it shrank, until it was the size of a kitchen knife. A dagger.

It was obvious that Percival didn't really want to speak, and truthfully, neither did Ray. But the silence was getting to him, and he didn't like it.

Chiron sighed, and when both of them stared at him, he smiled weakly at them. "Why don't I see you to your cabins, hm? I think you'll want to sleep after all that happened."

No one objected, and followed the order mutely.

~0~

They dropped of Percival at cabin six; the gray cabin that was filled with so many kids looking a lot like each other it was almost freaky. Then they walked around the cabins since Ray's cabin, cabin eleven, was on the other side of the camp.

Cabin eleven looked like the most used cabin out of all the twelve. Its brown paint was peeling off, and the walls looked worn down. The caduceus symbol above the doorway was rusted, akin to the bronze number '11' above it. Simply put, it definitely had seen better days.

Ray stepped inside, and the interior were hardly any different. The walls and the paint held similarities as the exterior- dilapidated and old. There were plenty of sleeping bags on the floor, at least two dozens of them. And the kids inside were plenty, more than the bunk beds on the sides of the cabin could provide.

And said kids stood to attention and bowed respectfully when Chiron appeared behind the doorway. Of course, in his final form, he was definitely too tall for the door, so he was chillin' outside.

"Cabin eleven," he announced, "This is Ray Jackson."

No one said anything. Ray was wondering whether or not he should say something, but Chiron beat him to it.

"He is undetermined."

The kids didn't want to show disrespect for Chiron, but Ray could see some groaning or sighing silently in exasperation. What the Hell did 'Undetermined' meant? He doubted it meant that he was someone who had a weak willpower.

"With that out of the way." Chiron looked down at him. "Make yourself comfortable, Ray. We'll see each other again at dinner."

Just like that, the old one galloped away from the cabin, back to the (irritatingly uncreatively named) Big House.

Ray turned around again, and saw that the campers stopped bowing. Instead, they started to appraise him silently. Gauging him. Other times, he would've cared about being stared at by two dozen plus pairs of eyes at the same time, but now he could barely make himself bothered by it. He wanted to sleep, dammit.

One girl who was somewhat older than the rest stepped forward from the crowd. She let her blonde hair fall freely to her shoulders, her tanned skin indicated either she excercised a lot and/or lived near the sea, and she had the vibe of someone who could steal things just because they could (he would know). But Ray wasn't worried. He literally didn't bring anything with him aside from the hoodie and clothes on his skin.

"Well, welcome to cabin eleven." She grinned at him. "I'm Adrianne. Your current counselor. You're one of us now, I guess."

Ray raised an eyebrow at the specific word choice. "'Current'?"

"You're undetermined," Adrianne started to explain, and the rest of the campers returned to whatever they were doing before, though not a few kept glancing at him. Probably the eyes. "That means no one's got a clue on who's your godly parent is. Your parentage is undetermined, but Hermes accepts everyone here. The undetermined ones stay here."

"Until I'm claimed."

"Yep."

"I guess the amount of time until I'm claimed is undetermined as well?"

"Yes." Adrianne grinned wider. "You catch on quick."

"I assume you must catch on things quickly if you're a demigod," Ray said dryly.

"Heh. I'm sure you'll live a long time. You can sleep on the floor right there, by the way."

Ray nodded thanks, and the counselor went outside. He just walked over to the spot where she pointed before, and prepared to sleep when he realized he had forgotten one crucial part in his plan of going to sleep; he had nothing to sleep on, except the floor.

He was seriously considering sleeping on the hard, cold (and ridiculously dirty) floor, when someone threw something soft at his back. He turned around, and saw the reteating back of Percival, who muttered blearily, "Go find your own toothbrush."

Ray grinned. He wanted to thank him, but his friend was already gone before he could get over his surprise. He knew that the German kid was always prepared, but not to the point that he'd know that Ray wouldn't get a bed to sleep on.

So, Ray laid his sleeping bag on his spot, but he still felt incomplete, and he didn't like feeling incomplete. Then he realized that he had no toiletries at all. Not even soap, shampoo, and, yes, toothbrush.

Bah. More work before he could get some rest, it seemed. But where could one get those things in here, anyway? And how could he get it? He didn't have any money on him.

After asking around, he now knew that he could buy all the aforementioned items from the camp shop, but as he feared, he would need money for it. And if that wasn't bad enough, US dollars were invalid there. He'd need money known as 'Drachmas', which apparently was the thing people used back in the age of gods.

Obviously he had none of that too. Time to ask for some favors, then.

Ray looked around.

He didn't want to ask kids who were older than him since they would most probably reject his request, so that left a dozen left; the kids who were around his age, not too old, nor too young. Now, to find which one.

One, who was trying to steal a golden coin from someone's bag, then one more who was pushing a whoopee cushion under someone's pillow, another who was trying to drop a small frog to someone's bottle, then a kid who was-

Ray stopped observing the campers around him and sighed. Seriously, he knew that Hermes was the God of Thieves, but he didn't know he was supposed to be the God of Pranks. He'd need to separate the pranksters from the thieves to know the ones he could ask.

He was tempted to go to the coin thief, but as soon as the kid got his Girl Scouts cookie-sized prize, he cackled and ran out of the cabin. Ray held back another sigh. Well, that went one of his last hope that prevented him from sleeping with sweaty clothes.

The rest were pranksters, so Ray merely gave them a glance to look at the next. Half of them were sleeping. Then one caught his eyes.

A girl, looking to be close around his age with long black hair, pulling out a chocolate bar out of an older camper's pocket who was busy chatting with another camper beside her. After she got it, she grinned, before going to her own sleeping bag and consumed it.

Hmm, yes, she looked promising indeed.

Ray approached her, and the girl blinked at him, smears of chocolate on her cheeks and brown smudges at the tips of her fingers, with a quarter of a chocolate bar in her hands. In a way, Ray was impressed. The pickpocketing only happened around ten seconds ago.

"Um... can I help you?" she asked hesitantly, not bothering to wipe the chocolate off her face. She stared at him, most probably because of his odd purple eyes.

"You can help by cleaning your face." Ray handed her one of the tissues he kept in his pockets. Gods know how messy Percy could be after eating something. "And I want you to do something for me."

She wiped her face and her fingers with it, scowling for being told at but knowing he was right anyway. A feeling he knew all too well but with the girl being him and him being his mother. Afterward, she handed the tissue back, still looking annoyed.

Ray took it back to store it, planning to throw it away later.

"What do you want?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"A toothbrush and tube of toothpaste would be nice," Ray answered, ignoring her tone. "Along with a bottle of soap and shampoo. Oh, a new shirt and a pair of pants as well."

"What do I look like, a maid? Go buy them yourself." She turned around to finish her chocolate- er, stolen chocolate.

"I don't have any money-"

"Not my problem," the girl mumbled just loud enough for him to hear.

Ray inwardly sighed. "-so that's why I want to ask you to steal those things for me."

That caught her attention. She turned around again, a glint in her eyes. "Steal?"

"Yep. I want you to steal the things I mentioned before from the camp store."

"And what do I get in return? You don't have any money."

"A favor for a favor," Ray replied without missing a beat. "You help me, and in return I will help you with whatever it is you need. Of course, the task must still inside the realm of possibilities a ten-year old unclaimed demigod."

The girl seemed to consider this for a moment. "Why do I have to help you?"

"You don't." Ray shrugged. "If you don't, then I'll ask someone else."

"...Fine." She stood up after a moment of hesitation, dusting her CAMP HALF-BLOOD t-shirt off. "But one item for one favor."

Six items meant six favors. Not too hard, he supposed. "Just remember, within the rea-"

The girl rolled her eyes. "_The realm_ _of_ _possibilities_, yeah, whatever. You speak like a cabin six kid."

"My best friend is a cabin six kid, and he speaks like this a lot I actually forgot some normal words."

The edges of her lips quirked upwards. "You help me with something first, and then I'll steal a toothbrush for you."

"Just let it be something that would count as multiple aids. I don't want to brush my teeth with only water."

Now the small quirking of lips turned into a grin, and she walked outside the cabin, motioning him to follow her.

Outside, Ray found her staring at cabin five, the blood red one filled with huge muscle-bound kids. He could hear the booming of rock music blaring from the cabin even from here.

"So..." he drawled. "What do you want?"

The girl looked at him. "Do you know Joshua?"

"No."

"Well, sooner or later, you will. He's the biggest Ares kid around, and likes taking money from us 'cuz we're _younger_."

Ray shrugged. "Then it's a good thing I don't have any money."

"Then he'll give you a black eye," the girl said dryly. "And he won't hold back just '_cuz_ _we're_ _younger_."

"What does this have anything to do with my help?"

"Well." She frowned. "He took _my _money."

Ray sighed.

"Oh, don't be like that. You know this is gonna happen sooner or later."

"I believe I said _within the range of possibilities_."

"Yeah, the range of a ten-year old unclaimed demigod," she shot back. "And by your attitude, I think you're a kid of Athena. So you can definitely show that jerk that he's not boss."

She was wrong, obviously. But if acting like this made people think he was a child of Athena instead of Poseidon then it would do more good than harm.

"Fine..." he groaned. "How much does this cost?"

She thought over this critically. "Three." She decided. "One, I want my money back. Two, he's a jerk that needs to know his place. And three, I want to know what can you do."

"I want a shirt, a pair of pants, and a bottle of soap."

"Deal."

"Shake on it?" he held a hand out.

"Sure."

Holding her hand, Ray was somewhat fascinated to find that her hand was soft. He thought that somebody who pickpocket things often would have more calloused hands. More knowledge to add, he supposed, no matter how mundane that was.

After that, Ray walked over to cabin five, possibilities whirling around his mind. With his- albeit novice- illusions, things would be easier, but only if he knew which buttons to press. And not just make this 'Joshua' angry, but also to lower his ego down. Maybe humiliate him? What in the name of the Olympians could make a child of the God of War angry, he wondered.

Ray reached cabin five, and the rock song assaulted his ears relentlessly. Huge, mean-looking kids wandered around the blood-red cabin, chatting (trash-talking) or wrestling among themselves. One stood out, for he loomed over the other Ares kids, with a height around six foot tall.

That could be Joshua.

"Yo, Joshua! You hear there's a new kid in eleven?" one Ares kid slapped the huge guy's shoulder, grinning.

Definitely Joshua.

"Yeah, yeah. Hear he's got purple eyes!" another kid butted in.

"Purpl' eyes?" Joshua raised an eyebrow, voice thick with a Southern accent. "Think tha's real?"

As the kids around Joshua voiced their opinions, Ray walked around the cabin, an idea forming in his mind. Behind, just as he hoped, were several other Ares kids, apparently preparing a prank, evident by the amount of rotten eggs around them and the glances at their neighbour, cabin seven- the shiny, golden cabin.

Ray ignored their plan- it wasn't any of his problem. Instead, he chose one target, and used the Mist once more to imagine himself to look like his target. Slowly, he imagined his jet black hair turned to a dark brown, his mutated purple eyes turned to blue, and his body-build became larger, similar to fit fifteen year old.

When he believed his transformation complete, Ray grinned and headed to the nearest thing that could provide a reflection. Looking down upon the puddle of water, he was pleased with himself to see how similar he was to his target. The illusion was still a bit foggy and unfocused, but nothing that someone would see without looking at him closely.

Smirking, Ray dismissed his illusion, and his ordinary purple-eyed reflection smirked back at him.

~0~

Ray walked back to cabin eleven, his hands in his hoodie pockets. The girl was grinning, looking at commotion at cabin five. In her hands were the things they had agreed upon; a new bar of soap, an orange, M sized CAMP HALF-BLOOD t-shirt, and a pair of short cargo pants. But with those things was also a small bottle of shampoo.

"Not that I don't want it, but why are you bringing that shampoo with you?" Ray asked.

The girl ignored his words, and turned at him, the pleased grin still plastered on her face and mirth in her eyes. "That was brilliant! I had no idea you can use Mist!"

Ray shrugged, trying to look that it really was nothing, while inside he was feeling really damn proud. He handed the bags of golden drachmas over to her. "Oh, that was pretty easy."

The plan was simple. Posing as the brunet son of Ares, Ray threw a rotten egg at Joshua's back. The bully's shock quickly became anger, and with an enraged Joshua behind his illusioned self, Ray purposefully bumped to the guy he was imitating.

With a grin, Ray ran around him and around the cabin. The guy looked seriously weirded out by a copy himself running into him and then running away, but the face was nothing compared to when he saw Joshua's fist heading to him.

As the two brawled, Ray returned, but now in a murky Joshua's form, though nobody seemed to notice (Ray mentally noted this : 'Children of Ares don't seem to be the brightest of the bunch'). He scooped up several more rotten eggs, ignoring the two campers fighting and cursing, and hurled them to many Ares kids, leading them to where Joshua and the guy was brawling, before turning back to himself.

Then he just watched as the entire Ares cabin beat Joshua into the point of unconsciousness, before turning himself into a random guy, which was easier because he didn't need to copy anyone and he only needed to rely on his imagination, and looted every money and golden coin he found within the Ares cabin.

"Here's your reward, illusionist." The girl grinned, dumping the entire thing in her arms to his. "The shampoo is a bonus, for catching me off-guard."

Ray smiled. "Thanks. I don't think we have properly met yet. I'm Ray Jackson, child of an undetermined god or goddess."

The girl smirked. "Well said. I'm Alexa Clayton, daughter of Hermes."

"Nice to meet you, Alexa Clayton. Now, I'm still missing a toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste. What do you have in mind?"

The sinister look on her face temporarily made him wonder if he just helped someone worse than Joshua.

"Oh, I have several things in my mind."


	7. The MIB Have Been Here

Disclaimer : I own nothing other than my OCs.

~0~

_The M.I.B Was Here_

~0~

Percy started having weird dreams ever since his brother got sent to the hospital. First a vision of Ray dy- a garden in the sky, and the most recent one was being him and his family being chased by a huge monster across a bridge inside a cab then something black and cold surrounding them.

He woke up when the black things started to engulf him, thankfully. Sunlight was pouring down through the opened window, the honking of cars and steps of people muffled by the walls of his room. Percy yawned, rubbing his eyes, and sat up.

"Ray, good morning," he cheerfully chirped to the bed just to spite his brother. Ray _hated _being woken up by someone else.

He waited for a reply. But when none came, he held back a giggle. His brother was still asleep! Grinning, he poked his head down to look at the lower half of the bunk bed, but then the grin disappeared and he blinked.

Ray's bed was empty. It was also tidy, as if no one had slept on it for days.

Maybe Ray was already awake? Weird. He always woke up before his brother. Percy climbed down the ladder and looked around, trying to find out where Ray went.

It was still six in the morning, so that meant Ray hadn't gone to school yet. Of course, that was _if_ his school still stood after yesterday. There was Ray's bag on the floor with books spilling out of it, so that also meant Ray didn't go anywhere or he _did _left and forgot his bag. It happened several times before.

Percy ran out of the room and into the kitchen, where he found his mother cooking blue pancakes but without humming or anything. On the table there was his favorite blueberry jam and a glass of milk, but Ray was nowhere to be found. Where _was _his brother? In the bath?

Percy's eyebrows knitted together and he ran to the bathroom. The door was unlocked, and the shower wasn't running. He pulled the shower curtains just in case, and Ray was not inside. Where could he be? Outside?

Percy ran to the door, and opened it. Outside the apartement, he could see Manhattan in its busy state, just as usual. Cars and people bustling down below, carhorn and chatter or angry screamings of New Yorkers filled the morning July air. It was hot, but Percy liked it. Better than the cold mornings of January.

Ray wasn't outside either. Percy turned back inside, closing the door as he did.

Mom still cooked the blue pancakes, but even Percy knew she was overdoing it. He could smell the smoke over from the living room.

"Mom!" he gasped. "You're burning the pancake!"

That seemed to jolt mom out of whatever it was she was thinking of. She yelped and hastily turned the stove off, flipping the pancake. Just like Percy feared, the other side was burnt black. Or a very very dark shade of blue. Seeing her failure, mom sighed, and reached over to a huge bowl where she had the mixture of pancake.

But he was faster.

"Mom? What are you thinking?" Percy asked as he handed the bowl over to her, looking up.

Mom blinked, and looked at him. She smiled (forced, Percy noticed), and ruffled his hair.

"It was nothing, Percy," mom assured. "I just have a lot in my mind."

He gave her a disbelieving look, but relented. "Suuureee... hey, mom, have you seen Ray? He wasn't on the bed when I woke up."

Mom hid her flinch well, but Percy could see it either way. That recent nightmare where a bleeding Ray was slumping on the ground flashed in his mind. He suddenly felt worried.

"Mom? What's wrong?"

Mom stared down to the bowl, not wanting to look at him in the eye. "Just... have breakfast first, Percy."

He was confused, but his stomach growled, so he sat down on the table and waited as mom poured another ooze of pancake to the pan. It sizzled as both made contact. Usually, when mom cooked, he and his older brother chatted as they wait, or sang along with whatever mom was humming at the time.

The kitchen felt empty. Like something was missing. The birds somehow didn't sound as cheerful as they used to be, the light not as bright, the kitchen not as warm.

He didn't dwell on it too much, because mom turned around and flashed a smile (still strained) at him, before dropping two huge, juicy discs of blue pancakes. Then she poured another circle of pancake to the pan, and started cooking again.

Percy stared at the food. He was _super _hungry and it looked so _delicious_, but... but he didn't feel like eating it. What was wrong with him today?

Mom sighed when she saw him not eating. She had another pancake on her own plate, still untouched. He mildly wondered how could mom cook so fast, and remembered his ADHD-infected slow-to-process brain. Her fork and knife were in her hands, but she held it loosely, like she didn't feel like eating either.

"Percy?" mom asked softly. "Why are you not eating?"

"I..." In all honesty, he was confused. He was so hungry, and the pancake looked awesome, and yet he didn't want to eat. "I... I'm not hungry?"

He phrased it like a question. He was sure he was hungry, though. He decided just to be blunt."...Mom, is Ray still in the hospital?"

She held her fork and knife tighter. So much her knuckles turned a bit white. "He..."

Percy suddenly felt something terrible was coming. A knot formed in his stomach, and he didn't feel as hungry as before. That nightmare kept flashing in his mind, showing that picture again and again.

Mom sighed in defeat. "He left, Percy."

"..._what_?"

Mom visibly winced at his incredulous and a tiny bit terrified tone. "He left for a camp while you were still asleep. He... didn't want to wake you up."

His mind was reeling. The hunger in his stomach disappeared. Left? Ray just _left_? That didn't sound like the older brother he knew. Ray would've waited until he woke up or wake him up early. Why didn't he do any of that? He wouldn't mind being woken up early even just to say goodbye...

He looked at his mom, eyebrows knitted together. "Mom, was that a joke? It's not even funny."

He could see the hurt in her eyes. "It would be better if this is just some unfunny joke, Percy. Ray really left. He did wish you goodbye, but only when you were still asleep."

Percy pushed the plate away. "I'm not hungry anymore."

"Percy-"

He already ran upstairs.

~0~

Percy didn't know and didn't care how much time had passed since he laid on Ray's bed, but it did took mom a pretty long time before she opened the door. She looked really really tired when she poked her head in.

"Percy?" she called out softly.

"Go away," he mumbled back just as soft.

"Honey, you still need to eat. And, well, you have to come with me to work. You'll need to take a bath, too, you know."

Both he and mom stayed silent for several more seconds, with her staring at him and him staring at his own upper part of the bed.

"Just why is this camp so important, mom?" Percy muttered, a bit bitter.

"I can't tell you, Percy."

"Why not?"

"For your own good. You'll understand when you're older," she assured him.

That excuse seemed to be a favourite for adults. 'You'll understand when you're older', 'Wait 'till you're old enough', 'You're not old enough to understand'. Ugh.

"Is it because I've been bad, mom?" he asked quietly.

"Oh, honey, no." She sounded a bit sad as she approached him. "Goodness, no, Percy. Why would you say that?"

"I... I didn't my veggies when you cooked them, and-and I ate candy even when you told me to stop. Does- does Ray hate me for that?"

Mom sat down at the edge of the bed, embracing him close to her chest, so tight he could hear her heartbeat. Percy tried his hardest not to cry- Ray wouldn't like it.

"No, Percy, of course not," she whispered to his hair. "Ray loves you. I'm really sorry, I wish I can change things, but I can't."

He took a deep breath, though it was a bit shaky, and looked up to his mother. "You don't have to, mom," he said quietly, pulling away. Mom sounded just as miserable as him, if not more. "I know you don't like it either. But I really don't want to go to your work."

"There's no one to take care of you here, Percy." She sighed, but more sympathetically. "So you can't."

"Why won't you hire a babysitter, then?" Percy instantly grimaced. He was _not _a baby.

Mom faced away, looking a bit embarrassed. "They aren't cheap, Percy."

"Oh... right. Sorry. I'll just... go take a shower first, mom."

He stood up, walking downstairs to scour for his towel, leaving his mother alone in the bedroom.

~0~

Sally shouldn't be surprised when Percy walked downstairs wearing one of Ray's black hoodie, but she couldn't say she entirely saw it coming. She barely held back from sqealing at how cute he looked. She needed to keep reminding herself that she was not a teenage girl, and instead a thirty year old woman who had a job and a family.

But dammit all, Percy was cute in that oversized jacket. His arms were too short for the hoodie so it only reached halfway, while he himself was a little bit too short so the jacket reached his knees. Her fingers were itching to get ahold of a camera and take a picture, even if it be her old camera with the cracked screen.

Sally couldn't help herself. She knelt down to Percy's level and hugged him, pressing her cheek with his. Her youngest son squeaked and desperately tried to wiggle away, but it was useless.

"Mom!" he cried. "We're going to be late!"

Sally hid her smile, but she did pull back. Percy's face was red with embarrassment, and he was glaring at her. Pouting. Oh God.

"You're cute in that, you know that Percy?"

"Wh-what?! I'm six, mom! I'm not a baby!"

Sally's smile broke through her defenses. "Sure you are."

They entered a cab, her in her Sweet on America uniform and her son in his big brother's jacket. Though now Percy had rolled the sleeves so it only reached his wrist instead of simply too long. The ride was silent, but it was not too uncomfortable. Percy wasn't as upset as this morning, she observed. Or maybe he didn't show how upset he was. Which could be worse.

Suddenly worrying about the possibility of him hiding his discomfort from her, she turned to him. "Are you really okay, Percy?"

At first, he looked a bit confused about the question, but then it sunk in, and his shoulders slumped. "Well... no, I guess. But I'll try to be."

Sally smiled at him, putting an arm around him and laid him down to her lap. "That's what I'm asking for, Percy. Remember, Ray only left _temporarily_. He'll come back soon."

Percy looked annoyed being treated like this, and she knew the indignant cry of 'I'm not a kid' was at the tip of his tongue, but still he gave her a worried look. "About that, mom... how long is he gonna leave?"

She opened her mouth, but then closed it again. How long? Chiron said that the campers normally stayed at camp for a month before coming back for next year, though they could stay longer if they wished to. After all, the camp was the only safe place for demigods.

Could Ray go home faster? It was possible too, since he could sneak out of camp and take several rides home. He could be at camp for several weeks, or a few days, or even a month or more.

But what she feared the most was the final possibility.

Ray not coming home at all.

Sally inwardly slapped herself. Now was not the time to be thinking about morbid thoughts.

She looked down to Percy. "A month, Percy."

His eyes almost bugged out of their eyesockets. "A _month_?!"

And then there was the matter of _Percy _having to go to camp when he's older... God, the apartement will be so empty by then.

"Yes, unfortunately."

"What am I gonna do alone for a month?!"

She gave him a mock-hurt look. "What, you think I'm not fun enough to hang out with?"

Percy playfully stuck out his tongue at her. "You're old, mom. And you're a girl."

Sall smirked, making Percy's grin disappear as a dreaded realization crept into his eyes. He realized it as well as her- he was on her lap.

"No, fun, huh?" Sally raised an eyebrow, still smirking. Her hands hovered above his small form, his eyes locked to them with fear and anxiety.

"No!" Percy gasped and tried to run away, but it was too late- she already locked him in place. With a triumphant chuckle, Sally started tickling her youngest son by the waist, armpits, and neck. Percy was powerless against her.

"Nooo!" Percy laughed, trying to fight back by holding his hands in front of him. "Stop! Please!"

Sally was nothing short of merciful, so she stopped before Percy's stomach could hurt. She grinned at her accomplishment- her youngest son still wheezing and trapped in a fit of giggles on her lap, face red after laughing so much.

The driver in front of them chuckled, and from the rear-view mirror, Sally could see him shaking his head with mirth.

"Okay, that was-" Percy coughed, trying desperately to gain some kind of composure. "That was cheating, mom."

"Oh, really now? You called me not fun and now you dare call me a cheater? Why is that?"

"You know you're bigger than me!" Percy crossed his arms, faking a pout. "And you put me on your lap on purpose."

"Nooo I didn't."

"Yes you did!"

"Whatever you say, Percy."

"You and Ray are just big cheaters," he grumbled.

Sally's smile softened at that. Good, now he could speak Ray's name without feeling sad. That was a great achievement indeed.

"Sweet on America, Grand Central?" the driver asked.

Sally blinked, and looked outside. She was so occupied with her youngest son, who sat up, she forgot her reason to get out of the apartement in the first place.

Nine in Tuesday July morning at Grand Central meant one of the busiest day for the people, though not for her. Men in suit and women in formal dresses walked around, talking to their phones and eyes set at their destination, carrying briefcases and walking with determined strides.

They mostly ignored her workplace, a simple building nestled in-between two significantly bigger buildings with colors of white, red, and blue just like US national flag. Through the windows of the store were lines of shelves filled with candies, from the sweetest to the sourest. She could smell the sugar even from across the road.

There were no workers visible. Only one young man leaning against a wall with a broom in his armpit, looking bored, his eyes and fingers flicking through his phone. Nobody was at the cash register- probably at his or her break.

Sally held back a sigh. She liked working there, she really did, but she needed some more money, and she doubted there was any publisher out there that would like to publish her stories. At least, not yet.

"Thanks." She nodded to the driver as she handed him her money.

"No problem."

Percy opened the passenger door and jumped outside, stretching a bit. She followed closely behind him, and when she closed the door, the yellow car's engine rumbled once more and the cab drove away.

As they entered the store, the door clinking softly as they did, Sally realized that she didn't when would Kristen's funeral would be held. Come to think of it, she didn't even _know _where her family was. The thought made her grimace.

The young man with the broom's eyes widened and he quickly pocketed his phone and acted as if he wasn't goofing off for the last hour. Percy ignored him, though snickering a bit after giving him a glance, and entered the door that lead to the lounge.

"Good morning, Mrs. Jackson," the young man greeted, sweating a bit. She had a feeling that was cold sweat and not ordinary sweat.

"Good morning..." Sally glanced down at the guy's nametag. "Elliot."

"Ma'am." The newly named young man nodded.

She blinked. Why did Elliot kept avoiding from looking at her in the eye? "Er... yes. Anyway, do you know when is Kristen's funeral going to be held?"

Elliot's eyebrows creased slightly. "Um... who, ma'am?"

"Kristen. Kristen O'Brien?"

"I'm sorry, but I've never heard of that name before in my life."

She narrowed her eyes. Elliot wasn't lying, she could tell. But why would he say he never knew who Kristen was? Unless...

"Elliot? When did we hire you?"

"Oh, just yesterday, ma'am. You were at the hospital, so Lisa took care of everything. And, well, she said you were hiring, so here I am."

Lisa, one of Kristen's most trusted employees aside from her. She would know when was Kristen funeral would be held and where her family would be.

Sally nodded to him, and walked to the door that lead to the management office.

Kristen's office wasn't that huge or tidy. It was medium-sized, probably the size of her own living room. There was a bookshelf on one corner of the room filled rare candies that Kristen would usually give her so that she could give them to her sons, an air conditioner at the top corner of the room, two small couches facing each other with a small coffee table in the middle of the room, and a small desk with papers and the such at the edge of the room.

On one of the couches sat Lisa, a perky blonde young woman fresh out of collague, chewing a pen and staring focusedly at the paper in her lap. When she heard the door closing, she jumped and whirled around, eyes wide. She instantly stood up.

"Mrs. Jackson! Uh... good morning," Lisa greeted weakly.

"Good morning, Lisa."

"How... how is your son?"

"Ray? He's fine. The doctors said he could leave yesterday, but I don't know where I should put him in. Yancy's probably in ruins by now."

"If..." Lisa hesitantly enquired. "If I may ask... what happened?"

Sally sighed and walked around the former college student, sitting down on the opposite couch. "You know what happened at Yancy, right?"

Lisa also sat back down. "The Yancy School Assault, ma'am?"

Yancy School Assault? That's what they call it? "Yes. My son had the displeasure of meeting the shooter. Or that's what the cops told me."

The young woman flinched. "Oof. I'm sorry for the little guy."

Sally nodded sadly. "And that's not at all. I don't know if you've heard the news yet, but Kristen died too. The shooter found her while she tried to find my son in the burning building."

"Oh my god." Lisa gasped, and covered her mouth with her hands. "That's awful! Did the cops catch the guy?"

Wait, Lisa didn't know Kristen died? Then who would know...?

Sally sighed once more. She'd ask for Kristen's family's number then."No. He escaped before the cops got him."

Lisa was suddenly furious. "Then they should've shot that asshole instead. Why didn't they?"

"Language." Sally reprimanded her tiredly, putting her face in her hands. "Even though Percy is in the lounge, I still don't want him to hear that."

"Oh, right. Sorry, ma'am."

Sally shook her head and looked up. "About that, do you know any Kristen's family that I can contact? I want to know when her funeral will be held."

Lisa was muttering some more things under her breath, but she blinked when she realized she was talking to her. "Huh?"

"I asked for a number for any of Kristen's family number. Is her dad still alive? Did she have any siblings?"

"Uh... not meaning to offend you, Mrs. Jackson, but why would I have those numbers?"

"Didn't she give you any family numbers?"

Lisa gave her a confused look. "Why would I have her family number? Did I know her?"

Lisa looked seriously confused, so Sally knew she wasn't lying. Or was this just a some sort of bad joke? "I'm serious, Lisa. You know, Kristen O'Brien. Our manager."

Lisa actually looked _concerned _at her. "Are you... are you really okay, Mrs. Jackson? You were at the school when that shooter attacked, right? Maybe you hit your head on a rock or something..."

Now it was Sally's turn to be confused. "What do you mean? Why would I be not okay?"

The younger female's eyebrows knitted together. "Because I never heard of a Kristen O'Brien being here as a staff or otherwise, Mrs. Jackson. And as far as I could remember, _you _were our manager, ma'am. Are you sure you're okay?"

~0~

Sally took a deep breath, then exhaled. Opening her eyes, she glared at the item on the desk before her, but the nameplate with the words 'Sally Jackson' carved on it didn't respond in kind. Of course, if the thing did suddenly glare back then she would have more problem in her hands, but if it did happen, she didn't expect to be more surprised.

Apparently, from Lisa's explanation before she left, the management office was _hers _for _three years_. It didn't escape her notice that three years was exactly how long since Kristen built Sweet on America and became its manager before she passed away. Where Kristen's blade used to be hiding, now laid a double-barreled shotgun. There were bronze bullets inside it. It would seem that the thing belonged to 'her' as well.

Sally took another deep breath, and dropped her head to the desk. This day just got more and more stressful. Percy was upset that Ray left without saying goodbye (which was somewhat ironic since _they _were the one who left without saying goodbye), now this. So Kristen died that day, and everyone in her workplace forgot she ever worked there. And instead, _she _took her place as manager for three years.

Obviously this was not a mortal doing.

She held back a groan. A migraine was threatening to enter her brain right now. How could she find out when was Kristen's funeral would be held now? No one remembered her here, and she herself never did acquire any number of Kristen's relative. Any pictures Kristen used to have in her office was gone, and more unnervingly, some were replaced by her own pictures.

How could this happen?

Sally glanced at the pile of paper on her desk. She had absolutely no idea what to do as a manager. But... this store was a creation of Kristen, her friend that died protecting her child. The least she could do was help it succeed.

She hesitantly reached over and pulled one, reading its contents. This was a report for what sales were succesful and those that didn't, so she could order more candies that could sell well. It was straightforward, and easy enough to answer.

The thing was, it was already answered.

Sally grimaced as she read her own handwriting on it. There was nothing wrong with, but that was exactly the problem. It was a perfect carbon copy of her handwriting. Even 'her' sign was exactly the same.

So she read the rest other papers on the table. And just like the first, they were already signed or filled by someone who had the exact same handwriting as her. It was as if somebody did 'her' work while she was absent.

She knew Lisa or anyone else didn't know her handwriting, because she never did write anything while she worked here and the workers never did see anything she wrote if she did.

So this was also not a result of a mortal.

She shuddered. Now, she only realized just how powerless mortals were compared to _them_. They could easily kill a mortal, and erase the memories of his or her friends (and perhaps even families...) so no once could remember who was it that they killed.

And yet, there was still one flaw.

Why did she still remember who Kristen was?

~0~

"Honey?"

Percy looked up and blinked at her mother, who was standing in the doorway. All the other workers quickly scrambled to what he could only guess as working positions. One girl was reading a magazine intently, another furiously wiping the table with a tissue, a guy writing nonsense in his notebook, and other things. Percy couldn't help but smile. "Yeah?"

"Come with me to... Kr- management office."

He blinked at her one more time at her weird phrasing, but did shrug and stood up, his action figures in his hands. Mom nodded at him and turned around, him following closely.

Not that far from the lounge door, they turned right to enter another one that had some words he couldn't make out above it, though he had a feeling it read 'Manager's Office' or something.

Mom sat on one of the couches in the middle and slumped, sighing tiredly. He walked after her, climbed the couch beside her, positioned the action figures on the table so they could stand, until finally laying down on his mother's lap.

Mom gave a small smile at him, and ran her hands through his hair.

"So..." he drawled. "What do you wanna talk about, mom?"

"Oh, no, I just wanted to ask you something." Mom looked worried at something, so he knew this was a serious question.

"What is it?"

"Percy... do you remember Kristen?"

He stared blankly at her. "Who?"

Mom grimaced, then gulped. "Uh... you know... Kristen O'Brien? My boss?"

He stared at her funny. "_Your _boss? I thought you were your own boss."

Wow, mom was really weird today. Maybe she got tired after Ray got to hospital two days ago? She must be _really _tired if she started imagining people.

Mom slumped even more. "I guess you really don't remember, huh?"

Percy shrugged. "I really have no idea what you're talking, mom."

She sighed, but she didn't stop with her hands in his hair. It felt soothing and calming. After a few minutes of silence and that, Percy actually started feeling sleepy.

Mom chuckled at him when she saw his eyes starting to droop. "Why don't you take a nap, Percy? I guess you're really tired."

"No!" Percy forced his eyes open and glared at the ceiling. "I... won't fall... asleep!"

"It's twelve." Mom had an amused expression. "Time for little boys like you to take a nap."

"I'm not... little..."

Mom chuckled again. "Sure you aren't, Percy."

"I'm... not..." his eyes closed.

~0~

It was black. Dark. He couldn't see anything. All was silent. He was standing on _something_, but he really couldn't see what that _something _was. He couldn't feel anything else aside from the pressure beneath his legs as they connected with the ground.

Percy blinked. A weird dream.

At first, he was just waiting there, standing. Then he found out he wasn't alone.

"_Xekinise_," the voice of an old man said. The voice of a really, _really _old man said.

Weird thing was, he could understand the weird language the old man was saying, even though he was pretty sure he never heard it before. The old man said, 'It has begun.'

_TO PAIDI TOU APOLLON?_

Percy shuddered, even though he couldn't feel anything in the dream.

The voice was dark, rumbling, loud, and sounded twisted, as if speaking through mom's electric fan. It also reeked of intense evil. The evil voice said, 'The child-' sorry, he meant- 'THE CHILD OF APOLLO?'

"_Órama_ _krymméno_."

'Vision...' Err... he never heard of this language before, but he had a feeling it meant blocked or something.

_TO ORACLE?_

'THE ORACLE?' What was an Oracle?

"_O ídios me aftón_."

'Same as him.' Same as who?

_POLY_ _KALA_. _TORA, TI EINAI O SFALMATOS EDO?_

'VERY GOOD. NOW, WHAT IS THE MORTAL DOING HERE?' Seriously, what were they talking about?

"_Ti thnitó- éto óti píge edó mónos tou._"

'What mortal- oh. I suppose he went here on his own.'

The evil voice scoffed, and wind blowed in the place he was in. _SAS ÉLEGA ÓTI EÍNAI EXAIRETIKÁ ADÝNATO._

'I TOLD YOU HE IS TOO UNPREDICTABLE.'

"_Ísos, allá eínai kaló na échoume mia ágria kárta sta chéria mas_."

'Perhaps, but it is good to have a wild card in our hands.'

_O, TI PEIS. STEILTE MAKRIA._

'WHATEVER YOU SAY. SEND HIM AWAY.'

"_Sígouros. Efchárista óneira o, _Perseus Jackson."

'Sure. Pleasant dreams, Perseus Jack-' wait, wha-

~0~

In his dream, Percy was standing in an old but fancy room. It was filled with pretty normal things like a twin bed, an old computer, books in bookshelves, and other similar things, but there was a cage that looked a lot like jails in cartoons on one side of the room.

There was a sickly-looking old man wearing green and brown clothes, sitting by the computer and two teens around Ray's age behind him- one a blond boy, the other a black-haired girl wearing what Ray referred to as punk clothes. They all looked afraid and panicked.

Then the old man started typing something on the keyboard, and words appeared on the computer's monitor. Apparently, it was in English because Percy took a while to read it.

_Running out of time. I'll try to read the future._

Wow, reading the future? Like those ladies in tents that had glowing crystall balls? Cool.

The punk girl disagreed with him though, because she frowned. "I thought you said that was too dangerous."

The old man typed something again, and Percy groaned when he saw how long the text was.

_It doesn't matter. Luke is right. I'm a cowardly old man, but Apollo can't punish me any worse than he already has. Perhaps I'll see something that will help you. Thalia, give me your hand._

Just as he finished typing, the old man turned to the punk girl, holding out a hand. So the punk girl's name was Thalia.

Outside the door, something- or several things- growled. They sounded like really really hungry animals.

Thalia placed her hand on the old man's. The old man closed his eyes, and concentrated, Percy guessed. After several minutes, he winced, then took a deep breath, a bit shaking. He stared at Thalia sadly, making her squirm uneasily.

Finally he turned back around too the computer and typed something, but not without pausing for a lot of seconds. It also took a lot of seconds for Percy to translate the alien writing to him.

_You are destined to survive today._

"That- that's good, right?" Thalia asked, looking uncomfortable. "Why do you look so sad?"

The old man stared at the screen for a long time. Percy groaned again when the words showed up on it.

_Someday soon, you will sacrifice yourself to save your friends. I see things that are... hard to describe. Years of solitude. You will stand tall and still, alive but sleeping. You will change once, and then change again. Your path will be sad and lonely. But someday you will find your family again._

Okay, that was hard, but Percy thought he did a pretty good job. He smiled slightly, knowing his family would be really proud of him if they knew this.

Thalia's fists clenched. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but changed her mind and walked around the room instead. After a while, she slammed her hands to the nearest bookshelf.

"That doesn't make any _sense_." Thalia grimaced. "I'll sacrifice myself, but I'll live. Changing, sleeping? You call that a future? I-I don't even _have_ a family. Just my mom, and there's no way I'm going back to her."

Then the old man typed again.

_I'm sorry. I dno'_

He deleted the last word, looking a bit embarrased.

_I'm sorry. I don't control what I see. But I didn't mean your mother._

Thalia backed down against the only window in the room, looking as if the old man just slapped her. Before her back connected against the dark drapes, she paused, but she still looked shocked and confused.

"Thalia?" the blond boy asked gently. "Do you know what he's talking about?"

In response, Thalia threw him a scared look.

"...It's nothing," Thalia finally said, "Hal's fortune telling skills are rusty."

She didn't sound like she believed her own words, though. The blond boy thought the same thing too, because he looked worriedly at her, before looking at the old man- Hal.

"Hal," he said, "There's got to be more. You told us Thalia will survive. _How_? Did you see anything about the bracelet? Or the goat? We need _something _that will help."

Hal shook his head, face sad. He typed some more things.

_I saw nothing about the bracelet. I'm sorry. I know a little about_

Percy grimaced as he tried to read the next word.

_Amaltheia the goat, but I doubt it will help. The goat nursed Zeus when he was a baby. Later, Zeus slew her and used her skin to make his shield- aegis._

After trying to read all these texts, Percy's head started to feel dizzy as the words jumped around in circles or doing cartwheels like in a circus.

The blond boy rubbed his chin, thinking. Then, he said, "So Zeus killed his own mama goat. Typical god thing to do. Thalia, you know anything about the shield?"

Thalia nodded, looking relieved about something. "Athena put the head of Medusa on the front of it and had the whole thing covered in Celestial bronze. She and Zeus took turns using it in battle. It would frighten away their enemies."

The blond boy started thinking again, but Hal held out his hands to him. The blond boy froze, as if a nasty thought just went through his head.

"Don't, Luke," Thalia spoke bitterly. "The gods were right. Hal's prophecies don't help anybody."

Hal blinked. The blond boy, Luke, suddenly had a determined look on his face, and laid his hands on Hal's.

After a few seconds of closing his eyes and concentrating, Hal's eyes snapped open and he yanked his hands away, looking at Luke in horror.

"Okay." Luke's face was blank, but Percy couldn't mistake the shaking in his voice and the increase of fear in his eyes. "I'm guessing you didn't see anything good."

Hal turned to the computer, taking several deep breaths. He stared at the monitor for a long time, Thinking. Deciding something. At last, he started typing.

_Fire. I saw fire._

Thalia's mouth turned to another frown. "Fire? You mean today? Is that going to help us?"

Hal turned around to face them, looking miserable, and nodded.

"There's more." Luke muttered. "What scared you so badly?"

Hal sighed, and typed several more things slowly.

_Hard to be sure. Luke, I also saw a sacrifice in your future. A choice. But also a betrayal._

"A betrayal," Thalia read out loud. Percy shuddered at the dangerous tone. "You mean someone betrays Luke? Because Luke will never betray anyone."

Hal didn't answer. He typed several more things.

_Fate. Blood. Inevitable._

"What?" Thalia's face scrunched up. "You mean someone will betray Luke in the future, and it's fate so it's inevitable?"

Hal took a deep breath and typed again.

_His path is hard to see. But if he survives today, he will betray_

Thalia smacked Hal's hands away from the keyboard before he could finish the sentence. She looked enraged. "Enough! You lure demigods here, then you take away their hope with horrible predictions? No wonder the others gave up- Just like you gave up. You're pathetic!"

Anger suddenly burned in Hal's eyes. He rose from his seat.

And then everything disappeared.

For some reason, the three words swirled around Percy's head. The three of them together didn't seem to be a good thing. Though he had no idea what the third word meant.

Fate. Blood. And inevilableble- something.

~0~

Percy woke up. From the window in his mother's office, he could see the sky glowing orange. Mom was sitting on her desk, writing something on her desk. She looked up and smiled when she saw him awake.

"Good morning, Percy," she teased him. "You slept well?"

Mind still reeling about whatever happened in his dream, he only wordlessly nodded.


	8. Bird Hunting to a Rescue Mission

Disclaimer : I own only this story. I do not own PJO or anything related to its franchise. Except this. I also own my OCs, but who would want to claim my OCs as their own?

~0~

_Bird Hunting Just Turned Into a Rescue Mission_

~0~

Percy lost count on how many days had passed since Ray went to the camp. A week? Two? He didn't know, he didn't remember, but it felt way longer. The days went on a slow routine.

In the morning, he accompanied mom to her shop where he would play boring games all day, then they would go home in the afternoon or night, depending on how many customers mom's shop had.

Then if mom felt they had enough money to spare, they would eat out in wherever restaurant they wanted. Sometimes, he would accompany her to buy groceries, or her new driving practices to get a driver's license.

The only interesting time was when a cop came knocking on their door, asking for mom. Apparently, Ray leaving to this camp from the hospital before he was 'discharged', whatever that meant, was against the law. At first, Percy was worried they were in trouble.

Well, weirdly enough, they weren't. _Someone_ had talked to the hospital guys right after Ray left and explained everything. The cop told mom she was free of all charges, but he gave mom a warning that if something like that ever happened again, she might not be so lucky and they wouldn't be so kind. He also told her to bring Ray to the hospital when he got back to check on his health, just in case, before leaving.

Other than that one particular day, everything was dull and boring.

He felt miserable, but he also knew mom was miserable too, so he tried not to show miserable he was to her.

He was finding it hard to maintain this thought when mom brought someone back with her one afternoon after walking out of the store. When he asked her who this person was, her reply confused him.

"He's going to be your step-father, Percy!"

~0~

Gabriel Ugliano, mom introduced him. Or Gabe. Personally, Percy would call him Smelly Gabe.

Sorry, but seriously, he _smelled_. He reeked of this thing called beer. He had barely any hair. And his stomach was too large for it to be healthy. He didn't know why exactly mom brought this... guy, but she told him not to worry about it, so he didn't make a fuss out of it.

If Ray was here, he'd tell him to check for any new people around, see what they liked and disliked, and so on so forth, so that neither of them would be on the new person's bad side. So that was what Percy did. He discreetly watched Gabe for what he usually did, what he liked and didn't like to do, and his personality.

The first thing he found out about the guy since he started living here, was that Smelly Gabriel liked drinking this beer. The fact that he smelled like said stuff was the first clue. The thing Gabe was holding when he entered the apartement other than his broken briefcase was a can of beer.

Either in cans or bottles, Percy would usually find the guy drinking the thing- or chugging it down, more specifically.

The second thing he found out was that Ugliano Gabe liked playing this game with cards and colorful plastic coins. Percy wanted to play with him too, but mom passed by just that moment and pulled him away, face horrified.

She later explained to him that the game was called 'poker', and he should _never _play it. Or anything related to gambling. At all.

The third and final thing Percy didn't found out, but he guessed it. He guessed that Gabe was _maybe _a bit friendly to the people in the apartement. At least, that was what it looked like to him.

Gabe brought with him people like Eddie, the guy that took care of things in the building, Joe, Bob, and others several people to play that poker game, eating pretzels and smoke stuff.

But he had no idea why Gabe hated _him_. And not like the subtle way either, like Ray whenever he got home from school tired and Percy asked him to play. His older brother didn't say anything and merely forced a smile, but he could see the tiredness and annoyance in Ray's eyes.

When Percy said 'Hi' to Gabe, the man said, "Get out of my sight, brat."

Percy decided that Gabe didn't like him, so he rarely saw him face-to-face. But he didn't stop trying to be friendly. Maybe he was like Ray, Percy reasoned, who sometimes had bad days and became passive-aggressive on Mondays or Thursdays, though unlike Ray, Gabe seemed to have bad days... all the time.

The thought of Ray pained him. He really did miss his brother. He couldn't wait until he was old enough so he could join Ray at this camp.

No offense to mom, but she wasn't exactly someone he could snicker with whenever he saw someone wearing weird clothes down the street.

Mom kept working, and didn't have the time to play or even just accompany him, especially since the last few weeks were summer vacation and her shop was rarely empty. Ray did, even though sometimes Percy knew Ray didn't want to, but he never complained.

Percy always knew that mom always did things to for him and his brother. Working everyday, never being angry at them, buying toys whenever she had extra money. He trusted her to do the right thing for them.

On the one week Gabe was here, Percy never saw him go to his workplace, wherever it was. He said that he owned an electronics shop _somewhere _(Percy didn't actually remember where), but he never went there. He only went out to buy beer and cigars.

At first, Percy thought that mom dated this weird dude so he could provide money for the family, but since he didn't go to work, Percy decided that wasn't the case. Then the weird thought of mom genuinely liking the guy crossed his mind, and he quickly threw away the idea. He knew mom wasn't into weird dudes.

One night, when he was having dinner only with his mom, he jokingly asked if she brought Gabe here just to make the apartement smell.

For a moment, he thought he saw mom getting pale. But it was gone as quickly as it came and she laughed, ruffling his hair (and also chided him a bit, saying how he shouldn't bad talk someone like that), so he guessed that was just his imagination.

But in all seriousness, again, this guy _smelled _real _bad_. And not just bad smell, the guy literally smelled like moldy food and morning breath. And the smell spread from him like a disease. Percy actually stopped hating baths in the fear of smelling like Gabe.

Percy was lonely, and the only company he had was a smelly man that hated him and a mother who loved him dearly but couldn't spend much time with, since she was the manager and all. He really wanted his brother back.

~0~

Ray knew that mom is a competent woman- as in, she is a competent mother. Her work took most of her time, yes, but he understood that she did her best to keep up with Percy and him. She did everything with their well-being at the front of her mind, and he knew they never left that spot.

Even then, mom's mindset always see the good in stuff. In him, despite his lack of success and ever-increasing mountain of failures, in their condition where money was a bit hard to find, and finally, this... this... guy.

"What in the name of Olympus is that guy doing here?" Ray asked his mother, as kindly as he could, in the privacy of her room.

He parted ways with Percival at the Greyhound station, then he arrived home late that afternoon. Percy cried as he jumped at him, and his mother smiled and hugged him. He could smell mom's delicious cooking being baked in the oven, and all was well with the world.

That was, until a smelly drunk started cussing at him in the living room. Ray was so surprised he hurled a handful of sleeping dust he got from Chiron at him out of reflex.

And out of reflex, he immediately pulled the front of his hoodie to block his nose, but he forgot that his family had no idea what was happening.

So after putting Percy to his bed, and tying the drunk dude with duck tape (one of a demigod's essential items, he learned), he woke his mother up in her room.

"You have to understand, honey." Mom sighed, sitting on her bed. "He's helping us."

"Helping how, exactly?"

"Tell me, Ray, what is the first thing you notice about him?"

"He smells like rotten food." Was his dry answer. Then it clicked. "Gods, mom, no. No. Just... no."

If mom was suggesting what he thought she was suggesting, then perhaps her work had put some strain to her. It _is _true that the smell of demigods are one of the things that attract monsters and other less pleasurable company to, well, demigods, but to bring _that _kind of mortal to their home... Ray wondered why mom wasn't more worried about this.

"Why not? Chiron said the smell of mortals can mask a demigod's scent. Why wouldn't you want that?"

Ray sighed. "Why can't you just buy exceptionally smelly perfume instead, mom? I don't trust the guy."

"Oh, come on, don't judge a book by its cover, Ray." Mom smiled serenely, the very image of benevolence. "I'm sure he's actually a nice guy."

Ray bit his tongue before he said something sarcastic. His mom probably knew the risks of taking a guy like that in their home (gods know how many violent drunk they met when they were going home late from mom's shop), and had more things to be worried about as a mother of not one, but _two _young and untrained demigods.

He didn't want to add 'Son's constant worry' to her list of problems. But still... "I won't call him dad in under any circumstances, though."

Mom's smile softened, and there was a glint in her eyes. "I don't expect you to. And how do you know the word circumstances, anyway?"

"Mom, I'll have you know that my totally advanced... _vocabulary _is absolutely genuine knowledge I acquired and not just a way for me to sound smart."

Mom pinched his cheeks, much to his dismay. "Whatever you say, Ray."

He groaned, and walked out of the room, his mom chuckling behind him as he closed the door. In the living room, the smelly dude who he didn't even know the name was happily snoring away at the couch, hands tied behind his back and ankles tied together with duck tape.

With this new revelation, the new problem that arose when he was at camp left his mind. He wanted to talk about this, but seeing the new guy, he had a feeling mom would need this sleep. His own problems could wait; his mother's well-being was a higher priority.

Speaking of... Ray put one hand to his chin, pondering. Should he free the mortal or not? On one hand, if he didn't, then the guy would probably be pissed in the morning. On the other hand, if he did, then there was a chance he might do something weird to his mom or little brother while they were still asleep in the middle of the night.

The answer was obvious. With a last glare through narrowed eyes, he left the dude where he was and went to his room.

~0~

Percy was sleeping soundly on the upper half of the bunk bed, and with one last check was positively drooling, so Ray simply smiled at him and patted his hair before dropping down to his own part of the bed.

So he laid on his bed and stared at nothing as the truth of the situation fell to him.

So much had changed in just a span of a month. The world he knew was turned upside down, the reality he was familiar with was nothing more than an illusion, and now he had to learn how to kill things and survive for an unknown period of time.

If all that wasn't stressful enough, now there was a guy that may or may not be a drunkard in his home, there was a rule that said he was not supposed to be born, and creatures with all shape and sizes will try to kill him if given the chance, and even if not. And of course, last but not least, Chiron and the healers diagnosed him with PTSD.

Fainting at the first sight of a bonfire wasn't exactly normal even by demigod standards, after all. Apparently, something happened at Yancy, but he couldn't remember what happened. According to Percival, there was a fire, and he was trapped inside the burning school. He wanted to talk about this with mom but she was asleep- he would have a chance tomorrow.

Ray grimaced. This was not a life he would willingly invite Percy over. He was still so young, he shouldn't be burdened by things like this. Perhaps what mom did- inviting that guy to live with them- was the correct decision? Ray would need to everything he could to prolong Percy's life of normalcy as long as he could, and try to help him on how to survive.

But what? Obviously he wouldn't teach him how to use a sword or a knife. Percy was six for Olympus' sake- he would probably drop the weapon and stab himself in the toe (Ray shuddered at the mental image).

He couldn't teach him any demigod powers, because he himself had no idea what kind of demigod powers children of Poseidon would have. Do Poseidon children even _have _special powers?

Then the last one crossed his mind. The Mist.

Illusions. It... could work. But he would need to train more on using the Mist if he would ever teach Percy how to use it. And probably wait until Percy was old enough to properly use it. The Mist could certainly take its toll- his head had started to hurt and pound several hours after using the Mist.

So Ray, abandoning the idea of resting entirely, sat up, facing the empty side of the room, and started imagining things.

And with all his might, he brought his imagination, albeit temporarily, into creation.

~0~

Ray, now eleven, stretched as the two foot tall illusion in front of him dispersed into nothingness. Below the rock he was sitting at, Percival twirled around with his sword.

The newly named Einblick (German for Insight, all the more proof of the guy's weird-as-hell taste) had a special enhancement which allowed it to alter its size so it could fit perfectly in his hands. So Percival was easily slicing and slashing any monster curious and stupid enough to get near them.

Alexa, who was sitting beside Ray, absent-mindedly shot any monster that was hiding inside the woods with a new crossbow, courtesy of their newest (and as Ray liked to call them) crew member.

Marcus Bryant, a son of Hephaestus that Ray and his friends had met in their latest quest, yawned beneath his baseball hat, watching a custom device that suspiciously looked like phone, where the light from the screen lit up to his face.

Over the years, his stomach had random pains. Since the doctors baffledly claimed that his intestines weren't there before and now they are, they had no idea what was going on. Or something to do with his mutation which made his eye colours purple. Or, the issue was his PTSD. Mom wanted to hire a psychiatrist to help with this, but he refused, and asked for a prescription instead. It was cheaper and less brutal to their already low budget.

Since he had bad memories of fire, Chiron gave him a special pass to not show up at dinner, since, you know, the mess hall was built around a be treated like he was a snowflake irritated him, but nobody would ask questions if he didn't appear at night, and he was good with _that_. He just ate dinners on the beach.

"Jackson, one at seven o'clock," Percival called out from below them.

Ray sighed and turned around, spotting the old lady that looked extremely deprived of nutrients with talons and feather wings flying toward them. In the night's dark blanket, the harpy looked terrifyingly fast, but he knew it was simply bad lighting.

"Snacks!" the harpy cackled. "Bad children are snacks for harpies!"

"Clayton?" Ray asked kindly beside him, ignoring the monster's deranged laughter.

A _click _and a _whoosh _was her answer. The crossbow bolt met its target, and the harpy lady fell like a rock through the leaves.

"You know Chiron's gonna be pissed if he finds out we're killing his harpies, right?" Alexa asked, twirling another bolt before putting it in the crossbow.

"I believe he would be more angry at us staying up late than killing his harpies," Percival replied, climbing up the rock. "Believe me, I know he dislikes them as much as we do."

"Oh, really?" Alexa beamed. "Does that mean I can kill as many as I want?"

"No." Ray answered, standing up and dusting off dust. Chiron might not like them, but those creatures were still his minions. He doubted Chiron would appreciate it if they just suddenly made the camp harpies extinct.

"Boo."

"I think he'll be too occupied to care about dead harpies tomorrow," Marcus joined in the conversation. When the three of them looked at him, he turned the phone so they could watch as four children around their age running away from... something, in the woods. It was too dark, Ray couldn't see too clearly.

The one in the front was a blond guy a bit older than them- he was carrying a blonde girl around Percy's age who looked like she was in pain on his back. In the middle was clearly a satyr (he looked at most around twelve, but Ray knew a satyr's look usually didn't match his age), trotting carefully but quickly.

Behind them, a black-haired girl treaded with haste, but Ray could she tell was limping. On one hand, she held a spear, and the other was a wide bronze disk- a shield- with... something on the center. Ray couldn't see it clearly in the dark, but there was something carved there.

"New half-bloods, eh?" Alexa raised an eyebrow.

Percival observed the screen for a few moments. "This seems all too familiar."

Ray shrugged. "I guess all demigods are destined to be chased by something deadly whenever they want to enter camp the first time."

Alexa glanced at him. "Should we help them?"

"I see no reason why not. But where are they?"

Marcus closed his eyes, and concentrated. After a while he opened them again. "Follow me."

The crafter pocketed his device, jumped down from the rock, and dashed into the forest. The three remaining demigods looked at each other, then jumped down too and gave chase.

"Number one priority is the child, understand?!" Ray shouted as they ran. In the night, he had no idea what his few friends did, but he just knew they nodded in affirmative.

They all followed Marcus, with Alexa being the fastest in the lead, then Percival and Ray tailing closely. They all jumped over a rock (Ray went around it), then they ran around a huge tree, ducked under a fallen trunk, until they came face-to-face with the four of them.

How Marcus could lead them there, Ray had absolutely no idea.

The blond guy's face twisted into an odd mixture of relief and suspicion. "Are you help from the camp?"

Ray nodded. "Yep. Go on ahead, and you should see the Big-"

"Don't worry, I know. My name's Luke, I know the place. Just- help fend them off!"

Ray glanced behind them, seeing literal hordes of monsters on their tail while the punk girl defended them as best as she could. The satyr kept pulling her. Women that had snake bodies as their lower half, hounds the size of a rhino, you name it. The three Furies themselves, Hades' personal torturers if he remembered correctly, were there, too.

"Ah." Percival simply said. "This can be a problem."

Alexa grinned. "Says you." Ray heard a _click_ and a monster fell to the ground.

Marcus hurled something he fished out of his jean pocket at the monsters and yelled, "Grenade!"

The monsters yelped and screamed, pushing each other back from the thing, tripping over roots and rocks. In the air, near three old demons that Ray was sure were the Furies, the small thing lit up. Ray and his crew looked away instantly the moment the flashbang did its thing.

Luke blinked, disoriented (because of course he stared directly at the flashbang), so Ray turned to Alexa. "Clayton, you guide Luke and the girl to the Big House and get help."

The daughter of Hermes mock-saluted him and pulled Luke along, him tripping over various natural pokey things but still putting the little girl in a protective hold. Ray looked at Marcus. "Cover us, Bryant."

Marcus pulled out another flashbang from his pocket.

The punk girl was disappointed and the satyr was horrifed when Ray and Percival approached them. "Gods, I thought that was a real grenade!" they both said, with the latter's voice being shaky.

"Do you seriously think I'll have one of us carry gunpowder wherever we go?" Ray raised an eyebrow, hauling the arm that has the shield over his shoulder. Percival stood behind them, his gleaming silver blade and handgun making him look menacing in the night.

"I can still fight!" the girl snarled, glaring at the monsters as they shook their heads to clear the brightness away. Some disengaged from their group and ran around the demigods. Ray glanced down to her leg, and grimaced when he saw the blood staining the ground.

"You clearly can't," Ray said dryly. Lastly, he turned to the satyr. "You, satyr, what's your name?"

The satyr flinched, his whiskery chin trembling. "U-Underwood, sir. G-Grover Underwood."

By Olympus the satyr sounded as young as Percy if not younger. Why did Chiron agree to send a kid like him on a mission to protect demigods? At least Copeland was an adult. Maybe. Well at least Copeland was old enough to maintain his composure sometimes.

"Grover, go with Percival-" said demigod raised an eyebrow- " and follow your friend, Luke. The monsters may chase your friends, and Alexa, by her lonesome, won't be able to fend them off. You're not a demigod, so the monster won't chase you, thus you'll be calling for help."

Grover clearly wanted to protest. But Percival was having none of that. He turned around and not-so-kindly pulled Grover with him, and soon, both were out of sight.

"You guys are awfully calm about this," the girl commented as they walked back up to the hill as fast as they could. "Not your first time?"

"Not our first time," Ray agreed, stepping over a rock and helping Thalia over said rock. "Though this _is _Marcus' first time. Don't worry, your friend Luke and your more little friend is safe."

Marcus grunted in affirmation, hurling another flashbang at the approaching group. But the monsters learned, and most closed their eyes even before it lit up. Still, even with closed eyes, it still hurt your brain.

"Well, good to hear that, at least." The girl sighed. "If those two are safe, I'm glad. Sorry to tell you this, but this time, it will be different. Those three hags flying after us? They're the Furies. Hades' personal torturers."

Well, so he _was _right.

"So Hades got a personal vendetta against you?" Ray casually asked as he casted an illusion of them running in another direction. Several monsters followed the illusion, while most was confused, and Marcus took the confusion to his advantage and launched the third flashbang that night.

"In a way." Punk girl sighed again. "I'm a daughter of Zeus, so I think Hades has it against me."

Ray suddenly felt a shiver ran down his spine. So this girl was like him, another victim of circumstance. Of course he could sympathise.

"A child of the Big Three?" Ray grimaced. "Must've sucked."

"Tell me about it. Why are we not run over by monsters yet?"

Ray couldn't help but smile. "Oh, I can use the Mist a bit. They think we're running to another direction."

"Mist?" The girl glanced behind her, and sure enough, some hellhounds ran to their right, some to their left, while the remaining ones got confused on where they should go. The three Furies, however, knew what was happening and flew at them, baring their fangs and outstretching their talons.

Ray narrowed his eyes, and there was a pull in his head. Instantly, three clones of the three demigods fled quickly into the woods. But this time, Ray actually did his best, and even he was impressed with the detail his illusion his made. It was progress, no matter how small. The three Furies flew overhead and away.

"Illusions." Ray sighed, feeling a slight headache. "It won't distract them for long, however."

"Then we'll have to go faster." The girl's voice was laced with pain and determination.

So they did. And they reached the top of the hill, where Percival, Alexa, and Luke were fighting off another group of monsters that seemed to appear out of nowhere. They all had their backs turned to the blonde girl, surrounding her, who was clutching her ankle for dear life. Grover was nowhere to be seen, hopefully already at camp and calling help and not eaten by roaming monsters.

Seeing them all huddled together, holding off against beasts in that place suddenly brought an unpleasant feeling to his gut. Something was wrong.

"Thalia!" Luke (was he fighting with a golf club?) shouted when he caught sight of her, making the little girl whip her head around to look at her. "You alright?!"

"I'm fine!" Punk girl Thalia shouted back, raising her spear. "All of you, duck!"

Ray knew his friends had no idea why they should get down, but still they did anyway. Pitch black clouds rumbled, and a zig-zagging pillar of light went down from the heavens with a loud crack and right into Thalia's spear, which was pointed at the largest and nearest hellhound around.

The thunder ricocheted off her spear and right to the beast's head, exploding in a huge shower of blue sparks and disintegrated a huge chunk of monsters.

So that was the kind of power a child of the Big Three had. Now only to find out how he could unlock his own Poseidon-ish powers...

Thalia suddenly slumped against him, her breathing quickening rapidly. Ray had to re-position himself as they stumbled into the circle of demigods. "Wow, okay, I think you need stop trying to fight, missy."

"Don't... call me... missy..." Thalia wheezed as Ray knelt and set her down.

Due to her display, it was safe to assume that now the monsters were more wary of the group of demigods, and now they stayed back, still in their threatening position, but Ray knew they wouldn't attack anytime soon. Ray looked at Percival, who rose to his feet. "How long is the Big House? Or at least the camp borders?"

Percival grimaced. "We _are _at the camp border, Jackson."

Ray froze.

So that was the reason for his gut discomfort.

Ray glanced around them. "So someone deliberately set the borders off so that any monster can get in easily? My, Hades is _really _angry at you, huh?"

"Thalia!" the little girl cried out and staggered next to the older girl. Her blonde hair and grey eyes the colour of storms was an indication of an Athena child, if any. "Are you okay?!"

Thalia raised a thumb silently.

"What can we do now?" Alexa asked quietly, eyes never leaving the monsters circling them.

"We wait, I'm afraid." Ray sighed, rising to his feet. "The borders are our best line of defense. It being turned off meant we can only wait for reinforcements. Or, if you're feeling a bit impatient... Marcus, if you will."

Marcus pulled out another flashbang from his pocket and hurled it- his fourth one, the one Ray had asked him to bring with him just in case. All the monsters learned this time, and they all clenched their eyes shut, unmoving, as the thing lit up right in front of them.

Which was not the correct decision because the thing exploded, sending pieces of monsters and dust clouds all over the place. Ray could hear ringing in his ears and wind blasting his skin.

"You have an actual grenade in your pocket," Luke blankly said after the ringing settled down. He didn't whisper, shout, or did anything to imply any emotion, he was merely letting out a statement.

"_Of_ _course_ I will have one of us carry gunpowder wherever we go," Ray said, raising an eyebrow. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Obviously." Thalia laughed weakly.

The explosion obliterated most of the monsters there, since none of them expected it. Ray guessed with just nothing more than a few dwindling monster dust left in their force, the three Furies hightailed out of there, quickly disappearing in the night.

All of them waited in the dark, to see if any more monsters were hiding in the shadows, waiting themselves. To strike when they see an opening. But none came, even when the sound of hooves and feet crunching leaves filled their ears.

"There, Chiron!" Grover yelled.

Luke fell to his behind, sighing in relief. His golf club dropped to the ground beside him. The rest lowered their weapons too, but still didn't dare to let go of their guard completely. Until the sound of hooves and feet became louder.

And Chiron, in his full horseman glory, burst through the bushes, his bow in hand and Grover riding on his back. Behind him was a group of demigods with torches, some armed to the teeth with heavy armor and Celestial bronze weapons while some wore regular camp t-shirts and carried bags.

"Wow..." the little girl whispered in awe.

"Thank the gods you are all fine, children." He sighed wearily, putting Grover down. The soldiers behind him readied their shields to the forest. The healers hurried to Thalia and the little girl's side, pulling out various lotions and gauges from their bags and got to work.

On the sidelines, Percival and Alexa gathered with Ray and Marcus. This did not go unnoticed by Chiron, of course.

"So you were the ones who kept killing my harpies," Chiron said, "I was wondering where some of them disappeared."

Ray shrugged.

"Chiron," Luke greeted. Ray could tell that he was trying to make a neutral face.

"Castellan," Chiron greeted back, in his typical sad-and-tired-at-the-same-time tone. "So... you're finally here."

"I didn't want to." Luke shrugged. "But we got nowhere else to go, and they're hurt."

Clearly who he meant as 'they' were the girls. Thalia talked and nodded at whatever the healer said, while the little girl didn't want to let go of her hand. Grover too.

"Nevertheless," Chiron breathed, "You are here, and that is why-"

**You did well.**

Ray froze. A painful ringing, louder than a grenade's explosion, echoed in his head. The shadows casted by the torches danced, laughing to a song only heard by themselves.

He could suddenly see glimpses- rows and rows of razor sharp teeth, hidden in the darkness. Eyes, dozens of them, with slits not unlike a cat's, every single one them staring at him.

The voice, dark and ancient. He felt as if he heard this voice before.

His head hurt so much his eyes actually blurred. "Who-" he choked.

**You did **_**too**_** well. Far too well.**

"Jackson? Jackson, are you okay?"

"Ray? Ray, what's wrong?"

**Even I was surprised. **

"Chiron, he's not responding!"

"Check for his vitals!"

**I value results, Regulus Jackson. And your results are unexpected.**

"He's not responding to any of it!"

"Get him to the Big House!"

**Thus, since I must undo your results, I suppose I shall give my apology.**

"What the- what's going on?!"

"OUCH! Hot hot hot hot-!"

**Neither you nor your brother are indebted to me any longer.**

"What... what the hell is that thing?!"

"Get away from it!"

**I value results above all else, and saving three demigods from a horde of hellhounds? **

"We can't even hit it!"

"Bryant, use one of your grenades!"

**For a group of eleven year old demigods, that is quite a feat.**

"...Gods, not even a scratch...?"

"...Luke, you and Annabeth has to go."

"What?! Thalia, no!"

**Be grateful, Regulus Jackson.**

"There _has _to be another way!"

"That thing is targeting _me_. Not you."

**A praise from me is unheard of.**

"Luke... promise, you'll take care of Annabeth."

"Thalia, no!"

**And cower.**

"Thalia, child, what are you doing?!"

"Chiron, right? Please, take care of them for me."

**For you shall bear to witness...**

"Thalia!"

"No!"

**...the might of Erebus.**

"THALIA!"


	9. Ray Formed a Cult

Disclaimer : I own nothing. Most of the things in this fanfic belongs to Rick Riordan. I only own my OCs.

~0~

_Ray Formed a Cult_

~0~

When the darkness lifted, a crow screeched right to his face.

On his part, Ray merely blinked blearily, not quite comprehending what he was doing nor what was going on. The bird stood on his stomach, slowly making him realize that he was laying down, and stared at him with beady black eyes.

It was black, blacker than his own hoodie jacket (though admittedly it was quite worn out), and unnervingly enough, its claws and beak were all jagged. Looked painfully sharp, too.

Ray groaned, trying to sit up. His throat felt as if some cyclopes had been rubbing it with sandpapers, and his head felt as if another group of cyclopes had been pounding it with sledgehammers. And to to top it all off, he was cold, thirsty, his entire body ached, and he had absolutely no idea how he ended up like this.

He rubbed his face, his mutated eyes slowly adjusting to his surroundings. He was in the middle of a forest, and in the corner of his eyes, he could see the camp's main ground down below with the sun slowly rising in the horizon, so he assumed his position to be on the only hill where the camp borders crossed.

Monsters rarely approached the border willingly, so Ray took his time waking up. Still, he was a child of Poseidon, and apparently they sent off waves of smell like Gabe's filthy socks even if it was hidden inside a safebox inside another safebox, so he still made an effort to wake up quickly.

Ray suppressed another groan, and slowly stood up, one hand rubbing his head while another used a tree beside him to pull himself up.

Cracking open his eyes, he was pleased to see that they no longer blurred under the effects of drowsiness. He could see the area around gradually lighting up as the sun rose; the leaves on the ground, the small craters on the ground-

Ray paused. He closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath and trying not to think he had gone mad. When he opened them again, he let out an all-suffering groan when he realized that yes, those craters were real. He couldn't help but feel that his new recruit Marcus Bryant had something to do with it.

Deciding to investigate further, he stepped away from the tree he was leaning at and walked around the place. He felt a pressure on his shoulder and something tickling his ear, and with a sideway glance he saw that the crow decided that his upper body would be a good perching spot.

As if knowing it was being stared at, the crow stared back, and Ray was a bit unnerved to see intelligence in the bird's beady black eyes.

Disregarding this information as his pounding head making tricks on him, Ray turned his head back forward to inspect the area more closely. Other than the small craters, he could spot some claw marks on the trees and rocks, and a mark that indicated as if something had been lodged on the ground nearby and was forcefully removed.

He and his crew (Ray seriously liked that term) had done routinely patrols around the camp borders at night sometimes- unknown to Chiron since the centaur would probably forbid it- and Ray could confidently say that there was nothing lodged there yesterday. He deduced that something, a monster's claw or a giant's weapon, made that scar on the ground, and moved on.

Speaking of things that weren't there before...

Ray turned around, narrowing his eyes, suddenly feeling wary. At first glance it would seem to be a pine tree, but it looked... wrong. The tree he had been leaning on was a tall one, with black wood akin to ebony like the looted stuff in the Big House's attic. The needles were a healthy shade of green, and it looked so fresh Ray had to do a double take to make sure they weren't glowing.

And it definitely was _not _there yesterday. How on Earth did this tree got here?

Suddenly paranoid of this tree, Ray inched behind another tree in front of it, and if birds could look condescending, the crow on his shoulder did. As if to show him how harmless the tree was, the crow flew from his shoulder and to one of its branches, and as Ray watched, the bird pecked the trunk with its beak. Then stared back at him.

Hesitantly, he stepped out of his hiding place. When the tree didn't immediately unleash a gigantic maw to swallow him whole or sprout several arms, he walked closer until he was merely just one foot away from it. Ray looked up at the tree, where the crow stood, and the bird swooped down and landed on his shoulder.

Ray frowned. If the tree had any terrible plans for him, it could've killed him while he was unconscious next to it, or when he walked around the area to look around.

Sighing, Ray put a hand to the tree's trunk.

_...what's going on ouch hot hot hot hot what the hell is that thing... one of your grenades gods not even a scratch... there has to be another way that thing is targeting me not you luke promise you'll take care of annabeth..._

Ray gasped, and the crow flew away from his shoulder, letting out an annoyed caw. His head felt like bursting when he heard those voices rapidly screaming and whispering at high speed, with the garbled voice in between. Pictures and visions of last night's events filled his brain, not just making his head hurt, but also increasingly dizzy.

He didn't pay attention to any of that. Ray instantly turned to the direction of the Big House and ran/stumbled as fast as his legs could carry him.

~0~

When he reached the huge house's porch, stumbling, staggering, cursing and moaning at the fact that his darn headache wouldn't go away, the campers went out of their cabins, some ragged while some looked better, and headed to the mess hall for breakfast. No one seemed to notice him, all eyes trained at the mess hall and noses probably smelling the bacons and pancakes and eggs even in their sleep.

Ray leaned on the porch's railing, panting. A squawking noise caught his attention, and the crow from before landed right in front of him, preening its feathers. He frowned at the bird, then shook his head, before slowly climbing the steps up to the porch.

Right as his foot touched the wooden boards, the door opened and a weary wheelchair Chiron wheeled out, followed by an indifferent Mr. D.

Both men- er, the centaur and the god paused when they saw him. The three of them stared at each other. Or specifically, Chiron and Mr. D stared at him whereas he stared at the two of them.

Ray never saw Mr. D, or his real name Dionysus, up close before. The God of Wine disturbingly reminded him of Gabe, but he still had hair, his eyes were more bloodshot, and he radiated power. The leopard jacket made him look like an overweight but rich dude, and Ray could imagine Mr. D drinking expensive wine in front of a fireplace inside an equally expensive condo.

In the awkward silence, the black bird between them crowed, and flew up to his shoulder. Mr. D was the first to break the silence.

Mr. D turned to Chiron. "Chiron, isn't that the brat who went missing last night?"

"I... believe he is, Mr. D."

"Ah." Mr. D turned his gaze back at him. Ray could see that the god's eyes were purple, but unlike him, it had a few shades of red, like the wine he saw in one of his quests. "Just checking."

And with that, Mr. D strode on ahead without Chiron, not even giving Ray a second glance as he walked to the mess hall.

Ray painfully gulped. His throat was still dry. "Er... Chiron?"

"I thought I was imagining things." The old trainer shook his head. "But thankfully I'm not old enough for my mind to be playing tricks on me. Still..." Chiron smiled at him, but the weariness didn't disappear. "It's good to see you alive, Ray. I thought you died last night."

Ray stared blankly at him, momentarily forgetting his headache.

What on Earth actually happened last night?

~0~

Percival was asleep on the couch, one hand loosely holding his Einblick and the other on the handle of his gun Irrsin (Insight and Madness. Percival was weird, period), lightly snoring.

This only occured to his mind, but Ray wondered whether or not giving an eleven-year old a gun was a good idea in the first place. Though, by all means, they were demigods, so normal mortal rules rarely applied.

Still, Ray voiced his worry of the gun going off. Chiron assured him that he had unloaded the bullets while the son of Athena was asleep, so he felt safe enough sitting next to his friend without the fear of adamantite metal being embedded in him.

In his spot, he could see the stubborn crow the refused to let him go out of its sight right outside the window, staring at him. Ray did his best to ignore it.

"Why is he sleeping here anyway?" Ray asked, irritation leaking from his tone as he tried to maneuver himself around Percival's legs, trying to keep his glass of nectar from tipping over.

"He spent the entire night searching for you, of course," Chiron answered pleasantly enough, sitting in his wheelchair in front of him. "Speaking of which, tell me, Ray. What happened last night? You went missing and sent all of us in a panic."

Ray started half-listening after Chiron said that Percival spent the night searching for him. As he took a sip from his healing drink, he resisted from raising a skeptical eyebrow, but it still rose a few milimetres. To think that Percival actually stayed up all night searching for him... why in the name of Olympus would he do that?

"I was about to ask you the same thing." Ray lifted his stare from Percival's sleeping face and to Chiron's. "What happened last night? The last thing I remembered was screaming around me with some weird noises in the background, and that was it."

Chiron rubbed his beard, thinking hard. His expression suggested he was troubled. "Hmm... so you do not remember. Likewise, we have absolutely no idea what happened last night either. Right after you've fallen, black flames surrounded us."

"Black flames," Ray repeated. "Like the ones when I arrived here last year?"

"Indeed. Could it be that Hades was behind that as well?"

"How do you know it was Hades?"

"Well, my child, the black flames were pretty self-explanatory."

Ray always forgot that Chiron was almost as old as the Olympians themselves. Surely he had seen Hades' powers up-close. Other than necromancy, the God of the Dead had a penchant for burning things with black flames, apparently.

"Were some of them cold?" Ray asked another question.

Chiron nodded, lost in thought.

Exactly the same as last year, then.

"And not just that, either," Chiron continued, giving half his attention back to the child. "After the flame appeared, something else... was there."

"Something else?"

"Indeed. You might say that it was a monster, but it was... different. The flames gathered together and formed this... huge creature, burning with black flames, and glowing white eyes."

Monsters with glowing eyes really weren't out of the norm. Hellhounds had glowing eyes, gorgon's eyes could glow too, apparently, and if his hypothesis was correct, then telekhines' eyes could glow in the dark. Burning monsters were rare, but they still existed.

But Ray never heard of a burning creature with black flames and glowing white eyes.

"And... what did it do?"

"It started attacking us," Chiron said. "It could not be harmed by Celestial Bronze, nor explosives- I do not approve of Marcus carrying grenades, by the way- and we were lucky to escape. And you are far more lucky to survive while being unconscious and nearby."

Ray mentally promised to ask Marcus later on bringing smaller, less deadly explosives next time. On the outside, Ray slightly furrowed his eyebrows and asked, "How about Alexa and Marcus? Are they okay?"

"Only slight bruises, and even that was handled quickly by our healers." Chiron smiled, then turned stern. "But still, I cannot believe you would willingly lead your friends to danger, Ray. That was unwise."

Ray merely nodded, knowing that teachers like Chiron really did not want kids like him to talk back. In his mind, he argued that the three of them had made extra preparations and precautions. But all of their plans went down the drain when Ray realized that Thalia was a daughter of Zeus and thus-

Hiding his anxiety, Ray raised his head. "How are they?"

Chiron looked confused. "How are who?"

"The four of them. Luke, Thalia, the satyr, and that little girl. Are they safe?"

Ray almost regretted asking that. Chiron seemed to age ten years older. The tiredness and sadness that diminished slightly just a second ago returned. Ray had a bad feeling about this.

"The little girl, Annabeth, and the satyr, Grover, are safe. Thalia is injured by the black flames, but she will survive." Thankfully, Chiron didn't sound like he was convincing himself so he knew that Thalia would be safe. "But Luke... he's..."

Ray sighed, leaning back on the couch and restraining himself from kicking Percival awake. "He's dead, huh?"

"I wouldn't say he's dead, child."

~0~

Ray entered another room in the Big House, where Thalia and the little girl, Annabeth Chase, were resting. He could feel his previous headache returning, but now with less intensity than before, no thanks to the new information.

So... Luke died protecting Thalia from the burning white-eyed monster, and for some reason, he was turned into a tree. Chiron theorized that Luke's father, Hermes, saw that sacrifice, but was powerless to act. Perhaps, not wanting for his child to be truly gone, Hermes turned Luke into a tree, though why a black pine tree Chiron had no idea.

When Luke was in dying human form, Thalia was in hysterics, so Chiron had to put her to sleep with his pocket sleeping dust. Both Annabeth and Grover were crying and sobbing (in the latter's case, he was bleating too), but the kids were already tired enough as they are, so both quickly cried themselves to sleep. Then there was a flash, and a tree slowly yet quickly grew over Luke's body.

Chiron didn't feel too safe about letting an unconscious Thalia rest in Cabin One, nor the infirmary, so he decided to bring her here, and after thinking twice, decided to bring Annabeth and Grover too.

At least, that was what Chiron told him. Right before the centaur sent him to this room and check their conditions. Ray had suspicions that Chiron didn't want to drop the bombshell that Luke had died (somewhat), and wanted him to tell them about Luke's fate.

Ray sat on a chair beside the bed, mind working overdrive to mull over this new and somewhat foreign news. Dead demigods were, unfortunately, not out of the norm. Even after eleven years of living, he had heard at least ten deaths from quests, and personally saw three.

The first death was when he was still ten and hellhound attacked a camper out of nowhere while they were playing Capture the Flag. The campers immediately killed the monster, but they were too late. Being the idiot that he was, he didn't look away. It was not pretty. But at least the camper died quickly. That was the first death he ever saw, and he couldn't sleep properly for months after that, the camper's screams kept echoing in his head whenever he closed his eyes.

He couldn't be more grateful when mom noticed this, and brought him to a psychiatrist, though the time he could spend back at home were severely reduced thanks to his appointment with his doctor about his stomach and now this.

Ray didn't reveal too many details about the death, except that it was gruesome and a bit bloody. The woman herself didn't ask anymore questions, and Ray was content with that.

The second death wasn't as gory as the first, but it was probably more painful. A few months after the first death, a camper got poisoned by gorgon's blood. Ray had to watch as the camper died in front of his eyes, being in battle. He had nightmares because of that too, but it disappeared after a few weeks, so he didn't go to anymore psychiatrist.

The third one wasn't that recent, but it wasn't that long either. A mortal was crushed to death by a huge metal claw when himself, Percival, and Alexa were running away from a couple of laistrygonians. That was when they met Marcus.

One of the cannibalistic brutes knocked a metal claw used for construction, and an unfortunate night guard appeared to see what was the commotion. It fell right on top of him with a sound that really wouldn't leave him for days.

Marcus, who was looting the construction site for metal and electronic parts, heard the huge clang and crunch, and ran over to their position to see what on Earth was going on.

Maybe, seeing three kids being surrounded by two giants licking their lips hungrily while a giant steel claw was a few metres away on the ground with red liquid flowing from beneath it, Marcus came to his own conclusion and hurled two things from his bag. The things were grenades he built himself.

The resulting explosion instantly killed one of the laistrygonians, and surprised the other. Taking in their chance, Percival and Alexa charged at the stunned giant. It ended quickly.

Still, something kept bothering him. The sight of a camper slowly decaying in front of him wouldn't leave him for weeks, yet the sound bones and organs being crushed under tonnes of weight only plagued his head for _five _days. Not even week.

He was afraid that his psyche got messed up by his dangerous, unwanted life.

A rustling of cloth jerked his attention from his melancholy. The blonde girl, Annabeth, sat up on the bed, yawning, revealing her small white teeth. The sight reminded him of Percy, and the thought of his brother not being there saddened him.

"Good morning," Ray said, mostly to distract himself.

Annabeth jumped slightly at his voice, and snapped her head around Ray was amazed she didn't break her neck. Ray raised both of his hands at her, showing that he brought nothing with him and was visuallyharmless.

"...Um... good morning," Annabeth said quietly, not trusting him immediately.

Ray smiled. "Did you have a good sleep?"

"Er... yes?"

"Great. I'm Ray. Ray Jackson. You can call me Ray."

"Hi... Ray." Annabeth sounded hesitant, but not as much as he thought she would. That was a great improvement. "I'm Annabeth."

This Annabeth Chase had a slightly small stature, perfectly understandable considering her age. Her blonde hair was messy and a bit of unruly, but seeing that she was running away from monsters for several days he had no comment on it.

Her eyes, however, reminded him of Percival's. His friend's eyes were grey, too, but more like the colour of steel. Hers was almost like a cloud when it was about to storm. A stormy grey. And like Percival, they shone with intelligence.

Ray had a feeling he was conversing with another child of Athena. And that usually meant he would gain a greater headache after the conversation.

"Annabeth." Ray nodded. "Nice name. Tell me, are you hurt anywhere?"

"I don't think so." She still sounded unsure, but Ray knew it wasn't due to distrust. "Where am I?"

"You're in a summer camp." Ray leaned back, and couldn't help but think that he acted like a villain in cartoons. He had to admit, he felt pretty cool. Now he just had to entangle his fingers together and put one leg on top of the other. "For special people."

Annabeth tilted her head slightly. Cute. No seriously, it was adorable. "Special people?"

"Indeed. Special people like you. Like us."

When Annabeth's face scrunched up like Percy when he ate broccoli (for some unfathomable reason), Ray resisted from letting out his laughter. Oh gods, now he knew one of the reasons why Chiron liked being vague. It was fun.

"What do you mean people like us?"

"I think you already know the answer, Annabeth."

The annoyance disappeared immediately. The little girl's grey eyes widened considerably. Her jaw unhinged slightly. "You mean...?"

"Yes. Like you, I am..." Ray opened his palm, and using the mist, he made a small projection of a miniature Annabeth standing on it. Now Annabeth's jaw fully opened, making Ray smile. "...a half-blood."

Annabeth didn't seem to listen. "Wow..."

Just to flex his mist-controlling muscles, Ray made the miniature demigod do the chicken dance. Then just to test how his training paid off, he remembered the chicken dance music as clearly as he could in his mind, and weaved the mist.

Slowly, the song started to play outside of his mind. Annabeth muffled a giggle when she saw herself dancing to the song, and Ray was pleased to see that he got that reaction from her. Thalia was the second to wake up, probably wondering why the Chicken Dance song was playing.

And he wasn't that far off the mark.

"Who the heck is playing the Chicken Dance?" Thalia groaned, absolutely refusing to open her eyes, and rolled over to one side. "I'm trying to sleep over here!"

"Good morning, Thalia," he said, dismissing both the miniature and the said demigod froze.

Thalia daughter of Zeus was intimidating, Ray must admit, but not too much to him. With her ripped army jacket, black leather pants with chains, and the black eyeline, she clearly had the scary punk look, and the scary punk aura surrounding her. However, ever since he found out that he was a demigod, cutting scary monsters in a half really weren't out of the norm.

"Thalia, good morning!" Annabeth grinned.

"...Uh... Annabeth, did you hear a guy's voice that isn't Luke?"

"You're not imagining things, I assure you," Ray remarked dryly, making Annabeth giggle, moving over to pass two out of three glasses of cold water from the table beside him, seeing that two of three kids were now awake. Annabeth took hers gratefully (Ray wanted to, again, smile), while Thalia didn't budge at all. Ray suddenly had the urge to dump a glass of ice cold water on her.

Annabeth took a sip, before something caught her eyes. There was a third person on that bed, and she grinned when she saw who it was. "Grover, wake up!"

Grover Underwood immediately sat up on the bed, mumbling incomprehensible things, with the nonexistent sign of him being awake was obvious. His eyes were still lidded, and he swayed while sitting up.

Ray wanted to dump ice water to him, too, but then remembered that although the satyr was approximately fifteen years old in total, in human terms he was still seven. Heck, perhaps he was still six. Around Percy's age or younger. So Ray resisted such temptations.

Annabeth was not above such temptations. With a mischievous look on her face, she poured down a bit of cold water to her hands, dripping a few drops of water on the sheets and darkening it, before waving in front of Grover's face.

The effect was instantaneous. Grover spluttered, and his eyes snapped open. He wiped his face with his hands, and the drowsiness was gone.

As Annabeth laughed and a now awake Thalia chuckled at him, Ray took his time to observe Underwood. The child was as large- or as small- as Annabeth, and by extension, his own brother, further enforcing his theory of the satyr being seven or six by satyr age. He had curly hair, and there was an almost imperceptible stubble on his chin. His goat fur was a bit ruffled, and clearly had seen cleaner days.

"That was mean, Annabeth!" Grover bleated. "I was still sleepy!"

"Sleepy-head!" Annabeth laughed.

Ray thought that Grover was somewhat pantless, though he supposed the goat fur could substitute as pants. Regardless of his thoughts, Ray handed him the last glass of water.

Grover seemed surprised at the offered item, but still thanked him and gulped it furiously. Ray sat back on his chair, feeling the urge to throw one leg over the other and enttangling his hands together rise up again. He watched their dynamics, on their behaviour and their banter, and calculated the best way to unleash the news of their comrade.

Deciding that a patient approach was the best course of action, Ray waited until one of them realized Luke was not there. Unlike his brother, Ray had plenty of patience to spare, but that did not mean it was unlimited, however.

Annabeth looked around, smile slowly disappearing, and asked the question Ray had been waiting for: "Where's Luke?"

The other two seemed to notice their lack of companionship, and looked around again. Thalia, in particular, looked panicked.

Ray stood up, brushing away imaginary dust from his hoodie. Interestingly enough, even though he spent the night sleeping in the middle of the forest, no dirt or other unpleasurable objects stained his jacket. "About that... Thalia, come with me."

The demigod made sure his tone made no room left for arguments (copying mom and Chiron). Without even looking if Thalia did follow his instructions, he walked out of the room. Not too soon after, Thalia emerged from the door and into the carpeted wooden hallway decorated by looted objects from various quests. Understandably, Thalia's face was a mixture of concern and apprehension.

Ray ran a hand through his hair, bracing himself. "Well then... Thalia, do you remember what happened last night?"

The daughter of Zeus' reply was not wholly unexpected. With a weary sigh, eyes looking down to her shoes, Thalia whispered, "I do. He's... gone, isn't he?"

Ray patted her shoulder sympathetically. "I'm sorry, but that's right. Still, I won't say he died. Well, not in a general sense of the word."

Thalia's head snapped back up, and slight hope returned to those electric blue eyes. But not too much, thus Ray knew she wasn't getting her hopes too high. "What do you mean?"

"Do you know what happened after you fell unconscious?"

"I don't know. I thought you and your camp... buried him, or something."

"Ah." Ray nodded. Why, he didn't quite know. That seemed like an expected behaviour, at the time. "That's where you're wrong. We couldn't bury him, because of his... circumstances."

At least, Chiron and the campers couldn't. He was nowhere to be seen, and Percival thought he was missing and perhaps even dead, so he really had no say in that.

"What circumstances?"

"He was turned into a tree."

"...What?"

Ray couldn't quite keep the smile off his face when he saw her expression. He hid it with a sigh. "I think you should see for yourself."

Protectiveness flashed in Thalia's eyes, and Ray was reminded on how two of them were alike. "What about Annabeth and Grover? I can't leave them alone."

Ray nodded once more, expecting this. "They won't be alone. Chiron is currently at the dining pavilion at the moment, but my best friend is here. He will guard them with all his might, I assure you. And, well, I was hoping for him to meet Annabeth."

Thalia raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Why?"

"I think they're related. I think that both of them are children of the Goddess of Wisdom Athena, but I can't be sure. Percival will be able to identify her if my assumption is correct."

"Percival... you mean that blond guy last night? With the gun and the sword?"

"Yeah."

"I guess it'll be fine..." Thalia still hesitated. Ray just waited. "But still, can we be quick? I'm not comfortable on letting them on their own."

Ray smiled. "Of course."

Thalia returned back to the room, and Ray could only guess that she was in the process of telling them that she would go for a few minutes. A few seconds later, the punk girl walked out, with a spear slung on her back and a new bracelet on her wrist.

With no shield in sight, Ray assumed that the bracelet could turn into a shield, since really it was not a rare thing for a weapon to turn into harmless objects. Thalia nodded, and Ray lead the way back to the front of the Big House.

Percival was already awake. He slumped on the couch, glazed eyes cast at the ceiling. Ray raised an eyebrow at the display.

"Keep looking like that and your facial expression will be stuck for all eternity," he called out as he approached him, Thalia in tow.

Percival's eyes widened, and he turned to look at him. The disbelief was clear on his face, and even though Ray wouldn't openly admit it, it was flattering to know that Percival was so distressed over his disappearence.

"I..." Percival seemed lost for words. "You're... fine?"

"It would seem so, yes."

Percival sighed, slumping back on the couch, looking as if a ton of burdens were lifted from his shoulders. "Cool."

Ray smirked at his first friend. "'Cool'? That's it? No welcome back?"

"Unnecessary, I believe. You weren't even gone for twenty-four hours."

Ray chuckled, glad that Percival didn't seem to be that affected. "Shut your mouth, would you?"

Percival smirked back, and raised an eyebrow at Thalia. "Who's this girl?"

Thalia's eyebrow rose as well. "'Girl'?"

"Thalia, this is Percival, son of Athena." Ray motioned at Percival. "Percival, this is Thalia, daughter of Zeus."

Now both of Percival's eyebrows were raised. "Children of the Big Three... say, do you mind if you tell us your experiences in the world? We're always searching for ways to effectively defend ourselves from monsters, and insight from someone that had been in the field for a long time is greatly appreciated."

Thalia blinked, clearly taken aback by his reaction. "Err... maybe later."

As amused as Ray was in this interaction, he intended for this to be brief. "Perhaps in the afternoon. For now, Thalia and I have to see something."

Percival looked at him.

"The tree."

"Ah." Recognition in Percival's eyes.

"About that, Percival, do you mind if you babysit a couple of kids?" Ray asked. "I think one of them is a demigod, a daughter of Athena, but I can't decide for certain."

He glanced at Thalia. "Has Annabeth been claimed?"

"I don't think so." Thalia shook her head.

Percival mulled this over. "A potential sibling? Sure, I guess it won't hurt. Where is she?"

"Third room on the right."

The son of Athena nodded and stood up. He put his blade into a gray sheath on the coffee table, and holstered his gun on his hip. Right before he passed them, he said, "In all seriousness, I'm glad you're fine, Jackson."

Ray smiled, and raised a fist. "I'm glad I'm fine too."

Percival snorted, but didn't reject Ray's request. After the fistbump, Percival walked past them. Ray walked over to the door outside, Thalia on his side.

As they stepped unto the porch, Thalia glanced at him. "You two are good friends?"

"I told you, didn't I? He's my best friend. He's also the first friend I ever made."

Thalia smiled, and her intimidating punk aura subsided a bit. "That's cool."

"Just cool? That's it?"

Now she grinned, and they walked up the hill to the black pine tree. Behind them, the campers had returned from breakfast and doing their daily activities, and Ray realized that the three kids haven't had any breakfast. Him too, he supposed, but he was far from hungry at the moment.

Ray inwardly smiled when he remembered the relief in Percival's eyes. They had their quarrels, obviously, but Percival was a loyal friend, as loyal as a demigod could be. In that matter, he had to meet up with Alexa and Marcus too, to assure them that he was fine. Alexa would be worried about him, undoubtedly, and Marcus would... well, from what he had seen of the Hephaestus child, Ray didn't know how Marcus would feel. He'd still pay them a visit regardless.

Remembering last night's event, when Thalia summoned a thunder bolt, one would assume that his Poseidon-ish powers was control over water, and he only needed to know how to unlock it. But he would also need to find an empty space where no one could intrude, to make sure his secret was safe. And a place that had plenty of water, or at least near a water source.

He had a busy day ahead of him, it would seem.

They reached the top of the hill, and only now it took Ray's notice, but the dark tree stood right in the middle of the hilltop, overlooking the entire camp. And his headache was gone too. Oh, and the crow was perched on one of its branches, staring right at him.

Thalia sighed, bringing him back to the real world, and Ray pretended not to notice several tears moving down her cheeks as she leaned her forehead on the tree's trunk. Her initial relaxed expression melted away, into one of immense sadness and regret.

"Luke..." she whispered. "Why did you have to save me?"

Ray never expected such a broken tone from someone like her. Even after just meeting for less than an hour, it was hard to imagine her as someone other than this tough punk that would never take crap from anybody, nor would be so emotional, especially in front of a stranger.

She was a demigod, a daughter of Zeus, and had been living on the streets for what, years? By all means, she seemed to be unbreakable. Then again, she was only human as well... at least, half-human.

A thought occured to him. Thalia quietly cried, and Ray patiently waited. When he heard the choked cries had stopped, he gently pulled her away. She didn't resist, thankfully.

He didn't comment on how she sniffed and rubbed her eyes with her sleeves. To be frank, it was somewhat... pathetic. Ray tried not to show that he truly pitied her. If experience with people like her taught him anything, it was that she would not appreciate pity. Especially from a stranger.

"I'm sorry." Thalia laughed weakly, leaning to him. "I'm-I'm a wimp, aren't I?"

"Not at all," Ray assured her. It was not a lie. If someone close to him died saving him out of all people, he would most probably act like her, too. "We can stay here for a while, if you want."

"No, no." She took a deep breath, and detached herself. She stood on her own, though there were still a bit of snot running down her nose. She noticed this, and rubbed it fiercely. Shame, Ray was about to offer her tissue. "I'm fine. Let's go back, Annabeth and Grover would be worried."

"Sure."

The walk back downhill was silent. Thalia stubbornly refused to look at him in the eye, nor his general direction. Her body language suggested that she was embarassed, and Ray did not make a fuss out of it. She just cried and sought comfort on a stranger. Anybody on her position would be embarassed. Unless that person was just plain stupid or stupidly dense.

"This is none of my business," Ray admitted, "But... did you like Luke? As in, more than friends?"

"No," she replied back, softer. "I loved him."

"Oh."

The silence returned. Not something Ray was unfamiliar with, though he could feel the awkwardness radiating off Thalia. Trying not to make the newcomer too uncomfortable, Ray started a new conversation.

"So... from here, what do you think of camp?"

Thalia lifted her face. "It's... not what I expected."

Ray smiled. "You and I both."

"Why is the climbing wall spewing lava?"

"Adrenaline. And not just lava. Watch for a few seconds."

Thalia's face scrunched up, but she did. After a minute, her eyes widened. "What the heck?"

Ray grinned. "If that doesn't bring adrenaline, I have no idea what will."

"But... but why do the walls has to clash together like that? Won't the campers get squished?"

Ray never though about it, in all honesty. Not like it ever happened. Those who climbed the Wall of Agony and Suffering were the totally skilled and totally stupid, so nobody got hurt since they all climbed quickly enough without being between the walls as they clamped on each other. The sensible ones, like himself and Percival, merely watched and shook heads when watching another one climb it.

"It never happened." Ray shrugged.

After several seconds of watching the walls on either side crushing each other and detached themselves, Thalia said, "That looks fun."

When he heard no sarcasm in that sentence, Ray smiled. "You can try your luck, if you want. And for your information, the most you would get if caught between the walls are just broken bones."

"Wow."

They reached the Big House, and Ray was pleased to see her lose some of the sad aura surrounding her. Walking back to the room, they saw that Percival was sitting on Ray's previous seat, and was in the middle of a debate with Annabeth while Grover kept looking left and right like in a tennis match.

"...Moneo's work was serene and meticulous, as the jury had said," Percival said, eyes narrowed. "He combines aesthetics with functionality, which is impeccable for culture and the spirit."

Ray held back a sigh. Seriously, Percival? Impeccable? What the heck was impeccable?

"Miss Jeane Gang's work is no less impressive," Annabeth argued back, with a fire Ray expected to show up in a child of Athena. "Her work brings life to cities, and her use of materials and care for environment is rarely seen in ordinary architects!"

Ray shook his head and muttered 'Nerds' under his breath, and an amused glance from Thalia made him know that she thought the exact same thing. Grover turned to Percival, as if waiting for the metaphorical ball to be hit back from him. Percival did just that, and argued about the National Museum of Roman Art being as good as the buildings made by real Ancient Greek architects.

While Annabeth gave her argument, Ray tuned them out and sat on another empty chair across the room. Thalia walked around to sit on an empty spot on the bed. When his back and butt were settled on the chair, he suddenly felt tired. And hungry. Oh yeah, breakfast.

Grover noticed Thalia's look. His face instantly contorted into concern. "Thalia, what's wrong?"

Thalia sighed, and looked at Ray almost pleadingly. Ray understood and stood up, ignoring his back and legs' dismay. "Percival, come with me."

"And Rafael is- what?" Percival turned to him.

"Chiron would need help with new..." a glance to the kids on the bed. "...campers. He'll need an extra pair of hands."

Understanding fell on Percival's look, and he stood up. Percival mock-glared at Annabeth, and the girl responded with a friendly glare of her own, grinning.

Both demigod stepped outside and Percival closed the door. Ray leaned on the wall, his hands in his hoodie pocket, while Percival twirled his sheathed sword around his hand.

"What do you think of Annabeth?" Ray asked.

"A bright girl, if a bit fiery." Percival didn't even look away from his blade. "She's really smart for a seven year old."

"Do you think she's a child of Athena?"

"Yes."

"One problem solved, then. What do you think of Grover?"

Ray could feel Percival's amusement. "He is... scared of many things, but I won't call him a coward."

Ray chuckled slightly. "Like a typical satyr. What do you think of his age?"

Percival paused, then resumed his 'dance', if you could call it that. "He's young. Really young. Younger than I thought."

"Chiron woudn't allow someone as young as him to go seek a demigod of the Big Three," Ray mused. "So..."

Percival smirked. "Grover asked to go himself."

"He's one ambitious little goat."

Both of them chuckled a bit. Percival's mirth died down first. He sheathed his sword, and unholstered his gun. Aiming it at an open window, he held the black-silver weapon with both hands.

"What do you think you're doing?" Ray asked.

A smirk slid to Percival's face. "Is that a trick question?"

"Fine, let me rephrase that. What do you want to shoot?"

"Nothing in particular." Percival pulled the trigger, and the gun let out an almost silent bang. A silver adamantite bullet flew from the barrel and into the sky.

Ray perked up, interested. The gun didn't have any visible suppressor, yet somehow the gunshot was severly muted. Not to mention the recoil was barely there. A goddesses' gun really was something else. "Does it ever run out of bullets?"

"Nope."

Ray hummed in interest, and glanced at the door that lead to the kids' room. On the outside, he could hear muffled sobs of the occupants inside.

"Percival, let's go somewhere else."

Percival holstered his gun back. "Sure."

~0~

Thalia and her little friends found them playing a round of meld pinochle on the porch, with certain someones.

"Eight hundred kings." Chiron smiled in his wonder wheelchair. The teacher showed his cards. Other than a few random numbers mixed in, he had all eight kings.

Mr. D sighed. He let them see his cards, that comprised of all eight aces. Then he smiled. "A thousand aces."

Eye twitching, Ray pointed at each of his opponents after he threw his cards down. "You're both cheating."

Chiron merely chuckled. Mr. D grinned cheekily, and put down his own cards. "I most certainly did not, young one!"

Percival didn't say anything, but Ray could tell that the German jerk was pleased he had accumulated more points than him.

The blond demigod neatly gathered all the cards and put them into a stack, then combined them with a larger stack. He asked nonchalantly, which Ray knew just to rile him up, "Want to play another game?"

"No." If him losing the last few games was not a proof of this rigged card game, Ray had no idea what was.

"Come now, do not be a sore loser, child," Mr. D told him.

"_Do not be a sore loser, child,_" Ray repeated in a mocking tone. "Yeah, you try not to feel like complaining when you lost four godsdamned game in a row. You _always _get the thousand aces. How is that even possible?"

Mr. D laughed, and even Percival chuckled. "Well, perhaps you should think twice before asking to play a game with the God of Gambling."

Chiron raised an eyebrow, amused. "Pinochle is not, in any way, shape, or form, a gambling game, old D."

"It is if I want it to be."

Thalia coughed to her fist, capturing the guys' attention. The kids at her side looked confused at the game they were playing.

All four of them sat around a card table, and several cards were strewn on the middle. The crow was sitting on the railings, preening his feathers. The day had reached its peak, and both Chiron and Mr. D arrived back at the Big House. When the camp director saw him and Percival playing a game of two-hand pinochle, he immediately joined in. Chiron joined in too, just for kicks.

"Ah, Thalia, welcome," Chiron greeted her. "And Annabeth and Grover. How are you feeling?"

"I could be better." Thalia sighed. The kids were silent. There were some tear tracks down their cheeks, and their eyes were bloodshot. Well, Ray now knew why it took them an hour to get here.

"Anyway." Thalia looked at Chiron. "You're Chiron, right? I just wanted to ask if I can go to my cabin, and if Annabeth can stay with me for a few days."

Chiron was about to object, Ray knew. But a glance at the young girl made him change his mind. "I... suppose she can stay with you for a few days."

Thalia smiled, but it was forced. "Thank you, Chiron. Let's go, you two."

Annabeth and Grover scurried over to Thalia's sides as she walked down to Cabin One, though Grover bowed at Mr. D shakily for a few seconds before that.

Ray raised an eyebrow at Mr. D. "You're not going to say anything?"

"Oh, I just don't care."

Ray's lips twitched upwards, and he pulled back from the table. "Well, I guess it was fun, but now I have some work to do."

Percival nodded, and followed his lead.

"Work?" Chiron asked, confused.

"Yes, work." Ray narrowed his eyes at Mr. D. "I'm looking forward to a new round of pinochle, but next time, I'm planning to win."

Mr. D cackled and shuffled a new set of cards as they left.

Ray and Percival walked downhill, each lost in thought. Ray himself was comtemplating on what should he say when he meet up with the rest of his friends. Percival and him go back, so really he didn't have to say anything, and the German kid could still understand what was going on. Alexa and Marcus were different.

"Nice bird." Percival suddenly commented.

Ray blinked, and looked at him, but something black and feathery was blocking his sight. He frowned at it, and the bird returned the equally same displeased look.

Impressive, considering the fact that birds didn't have facial muscles. But did he notice the crow perching on his shoulders just now? Ugh, he was too engrossed in his thoughts again.

"He's not mine," Ray said, the bird deciding to just preen in on his feathers. "He just suddenly appeared when I woke up this morning and he's been following me ever since."

Percival observed him for a few seconds. "Do you think he has anything to do with whatever happened last night?"

"Dunno."

As Ray thought over several candidates of greetings, he didn't realize that they had passed Cabin One. The black crow followed him, and landed on top of the cabin. Thalia greeted them outside.

"Where are those two?" Ray asked, noticing the lack of children around her.

"Annabeth's sleeping, and Grover went to see his mom in the woods," Thalia replied, leaning against the awesome-looking bronze doors. "I want to sleep too, but I can't help but feel I would be wasting my time."

"You're not seriously thinking of climbing the wall, are you?"

Thalia shot him a smirk. "Who knows?"

Ray inwardly sighed. If all girls were like Alexa and Thalia than he would have his hands full. "Just be careful, alright?"

Thalia rolled her eyes, but he could tell she appreciated his concern. "Whatever."

After that, they bid each other farewell and went to whatever it was they wanted to do. Percival went to his cabin, saying that he would read several documents of recorded children of the Big Three. Ray entered Cabin Nine, Marcus' cabin, with the crow waiting for him on one of the smokestacks, undisturbed by the black clouds.

He found Bryant on a desk, like some of his other cabinmates, while some other Hephaestus campers were pounding metal in the background. Marcus was making something metallic on his desk, while his eyes kept flicking back and forth from a blueprint on the table.

When Ray approached him, he glanced at him in annoyance, then in surprise. "I told you, I don't- ...Jackson. You look fine."

"I am." Ray nodded. He stood beside his friend, observing the metal ball Marcus was crafting. There was a small box containing black dust, another containing metal parts, and another containing electronic parts. "I guess I was lucky."

"Good for you. I'm glad."

Ray was surprised to hear that Marcus was genuine. "You are?"

"Oh yes. I can't understand why, but I noticed it the first time I saw you talking to people." Marcus turned back to tinkering with his new toy. "Your charisma is astounding. It's hard to not like you."

Ray snorted. "It's hard to not like me? I think you're talking to the wrong dude."

"Mr. D does not dislike you," Marcus stated, "And he hates everyone. You knew this, so you specifically appeal to him by means of the only few things he likes: pinochle."

"He's the director." Ray shrugged. "I'd need his agreement if I ever wanted to do anything. Being in his good graces just makes it significantly easier. Besides, I like card games, and he's a fun, if not hard, opponent."

Marcus nodded, as if what he had said just confirmed something. "And this is why I followed your lead. Normally, I see other people as incompetent. But you... you're charismatic and manipulative, yet you're not power-hungry. That's a really rare combination."

"Uh... thanks?" Marcus' words were like a combination of insults and compliments, so Ray didn't know if he should feel flattered or offended.

"Don't mention it. Have you met up with Clayton?"

"I was planning to."

"She'd been worried sick, you know. Percival and her were the people who didn't stop searching for you last night."

Ray raised an eyebrow. "You stopped searching for me?"

"Yes," Marcus answered, unabashed. "I was the one standing near your unconscious body when that black thing attacked. And I saw you sinking into the shadows, so..."

"Ah. I see. Still, that's not nice." Ray shook his head. "I hope this will change if something like this happens again in the future, Bryant. We will only stop when the ones missing are confirmed dead."

"Understood."

Ray internally marked this information as he walked away from Cabin Nine. Marcus was a serious kid, and would hardly joke around. He was also somewhat pessimistic, though considering the previous circumstances, he had to admit it was hard not to. Still, Percival was as serious, if not more serious, than Marcus sometimes, but he still had the time and patience to joke around.

If that meant anything, then Marcus also had something he liked, but not the same as regular kids. Percival and himself... well, they were nerds. And geeks, if their argument on warlocks versus knights the other day was any indication. Ray would want his friends to loosen up around him, and be relaxed.

Marcus would need more observation, he mused.

Finally, he reached Cabin Eleven. The stubborn crow landed on the roof, beady eyes gazing at him. Ray ignored him. The campers inside and outside the building greeted him when he entered, and Ray remembered that his disappearance and possible death was unknown to the rest of camp. He intended for it to be kept that way.

Ray found his last friend laying on her bunk bed, her face in her pillow. A quick glance made him thought that she was asleep, but then she shifted, and lifted her face.

"Alexa Clayton," Ray said, "You look terrible."

She did indeed. Her black hair, that used to be tidy, were now sticking all over the place. Her clothes were rumpled, her eyes were bloodshot, and there were black bags under them. Alexa stared at him like she just saw a ghost.

Ray expected this. "Yes, Alexa, I am here. You're not dreaming. I talked to Percival and Marcus, they seemed to be more composed- oomph."

By all means, Ray did not expect this. Perhaps Clayton put him in a higher pedestal than he thought she would? Or he was wrong in his observations? Ray expected the girl to just brush his appearance as nothing that was not out of the ordinary.

Still, he didn't have the heart to tell her to let go of the hug. Especially when he heard her sniffing and sobbing.

Ray fished out a fresh pack of tissue he got in the Big House from his pocket, and pulled out a sheet. Alexa held his hand down, and croaked out, "Not yet."

Shrugging, Ray returned the offending cloth to his pocket, and hugged her back. Then he realized that almost every camper inside was staring at them.

Using his free hand, Ray motioned for them to look away. Sheepishly, they did, though a few peeked through the corners of their eyes, seemingly expecting something.

Ray understood, that despite their differences, all of his three friends were loyal as loyal demigods could be.

That brought a smile to his face.

~0~

"Well, now I'm here. What do you want?"

"Oh, c'mon, don't look so grumpy, Percival."

The German demigod rolled his eyes. "Just tell me what you want."

"Okay, okay." Ray sighed, sitting atop a rock. "Was it hard for you to find this place?"

Percival crossed his arms, unamused. "Considering you IM'd me only to say to find you in an underground cave in the southern part of the forest, then yes, it was hard."

"Good. I'm considering of putting monsters in the entrance, so that demigods won't go near here."

"Why do you want to do that?"

"Well, I've been practicing." Ray held up a hand, and an orb of water rose from a lake in the middle of the area. Since Percival was here, he might as well did this. His other friends hadn't arrived yet.

Saying Alexa was worried would be an understatement. She demanded to know what happened to him last night, and when he gave his answer (or lack of it), she threatened him and everyone inside to never tell anyone that she just hugged him. The campers inside at the time were the younger ones, so they nodded fearfully.

She was worried again when he expressed his intention of exploring the forest, but he assured her that he would be fine, after making a clone of himself to show her how he could protect himself. Though she looked unsure, she let him go.

Afterwards, he immediately searched the vicinity for a cave or some sort. The crow, Ray decided to name it Stalker, landed on his shoulder, then suddenly took off. He just stared at its retreating form, confused. But then it returned, and if birds could look irritated, this one did. After he pecked his head several times, Ray realized that Stalker wanted him to follow.

Suspicious, he casted an illusion of himself following the bird, while he followed from a distance. Though, seeing that the bird kept turning his head to look at the real him, who was coated in the Mist to be invisible, Ray knew the ruse was useless. He kept it up regardless.

Then Stalker lead him to this cave, with an underground lake in the middle of a huge chamber in its lower levels. Stalactites and stalagmites littered all over the place, and he saw some empty torchplaces on the walls several feet from each other.

The place itself was as huge as Grand Central Station. The clear sea-water lake glowed a bit, reflecting its light to the ceilings and walls around it. It sat in the middle of the room, with sand reaching a few feet from it.

This place was clearly meant to be used as something. However, nothing was inside. No equipments, no traces of living sentient beings, nothing, other than the torchplaces. It was awesome.

Percival looked interested. "Your Poseidon powers?"

"You can say that. See, I remembered Thalia called a thunder that night. Considering her father is the God of the Sky, that's kinda expected. So, I guessed, since Poseidon is the God of the Sea, would my powers be water manipulation? Then I tried to control the water from afar, and I did this."

"I think you meant water bending."

Ray pointed at him. "I do not like Avatar. Henceforth, I will call this water manipulation or hydromancy from this point on."

Percival smirked, but he didn't push it. Several footsteps was heard, and Ray, who sat on a rock, saw two other people entering the cave. Alexa, holding a crossbow warily, and Marcus, who walked with his hands in his jeans pockets.

They saw him, and walked around stalagmites to reach his position.

Ray stood up, spreading his hands. The sudden move made Stalker screech in annoyance atop his shoulder. "My friends, I welcome you to join us in the Cult of the Doomreapers!"

Even Percival cringed. "Gods, that name is so corny it physically hurt me."

Ray grinned. "Our official name is still under consideration, but regardless, welcome! Come, join us by the lake."

Marcus stared at the crow on his shoulder. It pleased Ray to see a hint of amusement in the son of Hephaestus' eyes. "_This_ is a cult?"

Alexa rolled her eyes, putting her crossbow on her hip. "Don't mind Ray, he's a nerd. Why did you call us here?"

"I want to make things official," Ray said, going into business. Stalker flew away from his shoulder and landed on a stalagmite. "I have something to admit- I wasn't entirely truthful to you two."

They blinked, and Alexa spoke first. "You mean you have a secret? We all have secrets, Jackson. If you're planning on making me reveal my secret, then you better keep yours."

"I wasn't going to ask for your secrets, you know." Ray sighed, lowering his hands. "I want your trust, and with that, you must swear an oath to the River of Styx that you will not reveal my secret without my consent. This knowledge can decide whether I live or die."

Marcus went rigid, and even Alexa stiffened. "Okaaay... I didn't thought it would be that serious."

Ray frowned. "Do you swear or not?"

Alexa and Marcus exchanged looks. The former spoke up. "...Yes. If you trust me enough for you to reveal something so serious I have to swear by the Styx... well, I'm flattered. People usually don't trust me since I'm a daughter of Hermes, and I hardly trust any of them in return. You... well."

Alexa shrugged. "I dunno why, but despite your weird purple eyes, you're actually friendly and approachable. I trust you, for some reason I don't know. And now, you trust me."

She took a deep breath, looked at him in the eye, and stood straight. "I swear to River of Styx that I won't reveal your secret without your agreement."

The cave rumbled. Stalker didn't seem affected. The lake glowed a little brighter, and dust fell over several places. It only occured for a few seconds.

Marcus sighed, and repositioned his cap. "I only joined your group for a few months, but I can tell that you're a good leader, Jackson. Your charisma makes it hard to not follow you. It's terrifying, in all honesty. Still, if I didn't meet you that night, I probably would've continued in living alone, and in retrospect, I know that it was only a matter of time until a monster got lucky and kill me. You prevented that fate. For that, I'm grateful."

Marcus met his gaze, and the son of Hephaestus' brown eyes shone with determination. "If you order me to march into the Underworld- heck, into Tartarus, I would do it eagerly. I swear to the River of Styx that I won't reveal your vital information without your consent."

The lake's light shone even brighter, it reflected off everyone's features. The cave rumbled once more, and even some of the stalactites shook. Stalker merely preened his black feathers.

Percival stepped forward. "I was used to being alone, I was used to be bullied for my German heritage. I knew fighting back against them was a waste of my time, since if I tell a teacher, I would be brushed off. Jackson's knowledge is different against mine. I only knew knowledge as a process. Ray... well, Ray's knowledge is a weapon. I never even considered it that way. If you didn't help me, I probably would end up hating everyone I come across to."

Ray had no idea why everyone decided to give a speech, but since his best friend was on a roll, he really couldn't do anything about it. And also, even though he wouldn't admit it openly, their words made him happy.

He looked at him, grey eyes burning with fire. "I already know your secret, but that is irrelevant. I swear to the River of Styx that I will not betray your trust, that I will not reveal your secret without your consent."

The cave they were in rumbled once more. The lake glowed so bright it reflected off everyone's eyes. Several stalactites fell from the ceiling and stabbed themselves on the ground and the sand, with a few landing inside the lake. Stalkerstared at them.

Ray wiped a tear. And he wasn't even faking it. "You guys..."

Alexa smirked. "Come on, we wasted our breaths just now, and instead of telling us your secret you start crying?"

He grinned, and wiped his eyes with tissue once more. "You're right. This is my secret."

Ray felt a pull in his stomach, and the water from the lake rose several feet into the air. A small fragment of it detached from the pillar, and floated over to them. Ray opened his palm, and the chaotic mess of liquid took form into a long, three-tipped spear. Ray imagined it solid, so it could stab the ground, and the sound of cracking made him known that the trident froze itself.

It stabbed itself into the ground in the middle of them, right in front of Ray. The trident was transparent, and mist rolled off it, licking everyone in the face.

"...Wow," Alexa whispered.

Marcus' eyes were wide. "You... you're also another child of the Big Three?"

Ray clenched his fist, and the frozen spear melted back into a harmless puddle of water. "Now you know why this is a secret?"

Both of them nodded, but Alexa sighed. "I never thought about it, though. You're a son of Poseidon?"

"Yes."

"And you're friends with Percival?"

"Yes?"

"Yeah... and Percival's a son of Athena."

Percival raised an eyebrow. "That is correct. What's wrong?"

Alexa shrugged. "Nothing. Just that, Athena and Poseidon and rivals. Usually, their children would hate each other too."

"Ah." Percival and him shared a look.

"Why did you brought us here, anyway?" Marcus asked. "You do know that we could find another safe place, right? We don't have to meet the in the middle of the forest surrounded by dozens of monsters."

"This is something else I want to talk about too." Ray nodded, standing up. "I want to propose a plan. A long-term plan. One I think you already know, but I will continue anyway."

All three of them turned their full attention to him.

"I will admit something. I have no love for Olympus, nor for the gods that reside there. Their 'rules' and their 'fates' bring us demigods nothing but trouble. They let young demigods, not a few are even younger than us, to roam the land alone while being hunted down by monsters. I want to change that."

Ray looked at all of his friends in the eyes, one by one. "I want to make it official. I know that Chiron won't approve of this, though Mr. D won't care, so I want us to move in the background. We'll move in the night, and return before dawn."

"We're going to search for demigods in Manhattan and bring them back here safely?" Percival mused. "It can fail in so many levels, and probably ended up being us expelled or worse. Still, I find it interesting."

Marcus shrugged. "Wherever you go, I follow. Besides, I can test some new weapons on monsters we pass along the way, so win-win situation for me."

Alexa grinned. "Sounds fun. But how can we do that?"

Ray smiled. "I'm glad you all agree. And about that, Alexa. Your first mission would be to go with Percival to the city, and steal a vehicle that would suit our needs. Drive it back to camp, and I will be waiting for you there. We'll bring it to this cave, where Marcus would then modify it. You will recieve further instructions after we got the vehicle."

Alexa laughed and clapped, delighted. "I'll be stealing a car! This is gonna be awesome!"

"Before you do anything." As if on cue, Stalker flew back and landed on his shoulder. "I think we'll need an official name. Cult of the Doomreapers just doesn't cut it."

Percival snorted.

"We'll need a name for our group. Something that means protect, or something... or something something."

"What about the Guardians?"Percival offered.

Ray scratched his head. "I dunno... it sounds a bit too generic."

"The Vanguards," Marcus said.

Alexa pursed her lips, and Ray hummed. "...Maybe. Anything else?"

"Since we're going to be watching for demigods..." Alexa crossed her arms. "Why not Watchers or Observers?"

"That could work." Ray grinned. "Percival, what's Greek for Watchers?"

"Parakolouthítes."

Ray grimaced. "Too mouthful. Observers?"

Percival shook his head. "Paratirités."

Ray groaned. Alexa and Marcus looked to the ground, lost in thought. Suddenly, Percival snapped his fingers.

"Keepers," he said, "And in Greek, Fýlakes."

"Fýlakes," Ray repeated. "The Keepers."

Percival nodded. "That word can also mean watchdogs, or guardians, so I think it fits."

Ray grinned. "Cool name. Do any of you have any objections?"

Alexa and Marcus looked at each other, then shrugged. "Nice name, all things considered."

"Very well. From this day forward, our group shall be named as Fýlakes, the Keepers!"

Ray saw their looks, their indifference, and decided that then and there, he couldn't ask for more better friends.


	10. The Pen of Death

Disclaimer : Yami Tensei owns nothing except the Original Characters.

~0~

_The Pen of Death_

~0~

Percy grimaced when he saw the building came into view.

He never had a good relationship with school trips. Why? Maybe him accidentally blowing up the school bus at the Saratoga Battlefield, dropping his entire class into a shark tank, burning down the replica of an elephant in the National Museum of Natural History, and other stupid things may have something to do with it.

He could just imagine the things that would went wrong today. When he would have to go to the toilet, it would be his luck that all of the stalls there were plugged. Then the entire floor would be flooded with toilet water, mom would be sad when he got home, while Ray would definitely find it funny.

A splatter of something wet hitting his cheek made him look away. Grover Underwood, his scrawny best friend that walked weird, determinedly looked ahead, ignoring it. A ball of brown and red... thing dripped down from his rasta hat, and unto his shirt.

Percy wiped the thing from his cheek, stared at it, then wiped it to the bus seat.

Nancy Bobofit struck again.

"Okay, that's it, she's going down," Percy muttered, standing up.

"Percy, no!" Grover whispered furiously. He fished desperately through his bag, then pulled out a book just the moment another ball of peanut butter-ketchup hit him. "You're already in probation, you know that."

"But...!" Percy glared as another brown and red ball flew through the air, to Grover's book.

"Hey, it's okay. I like peanut butter. Besides, Ray already have enough blackmail against you to last for a lifetime, you don't want him to get more stuff."

Percy clenched his fists. But Grover was right. Not the blackmail thing, but the probation. The headmaster would have his hide if the trip ended up with something destructive, no matter how amusing it would be.

_SPLAT! _Another chunk of Bobofit's lunch made a crashlanding on the cover of Grover's book.

Instead of stomping to the back of the bus and give Nancy the old one-two, which would end badly for him (the girl was huge), he offered Grover to use his jacket as protection instead, since it would be way easier to wash a jacket than a paper-filled book.

~0~

Fortunately, Mr. Brunner was the one leading the tour. The old teacher on a wheelchair always knew how to make even the most boringest thing sound exciting.

Unfortunately, Mrs. Grelod also followed them from behind. His prayers of her having a random diarrhea wasn't answered. That biology teacher clad in black leather jacket from Germany was scary. Some students whispered at the back of the class that she rode a burning Harley with a horned skull in place of its headlights like Ghost Rider to instill fear, but he thought that just sounded badass.

Still, Mrs. Grelod was still pretty creepy. What was worse, she seemed to hate him, and he had no idea why. She also liked saying the word 'Dear' with a wicked smile to any troublemakers, making skins crawl, so yeah.

Mr. Brunner strolled ahead.

Surprisingly, Percy _had _been here before. In one of the rare occasions when Ray and him were home at the same time, Ray told him the two of them were going to have a trip, since Ray had a few days off work, whatever his work was. For some reason, Ray wanted them to see the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Percy thought he would find it boring, but he ended up liking the trip. He found out new interesting stuff he didn't know Ray knew- like apparently the Titan of the East Hyperion would sometimes blind his brother Iapetus, the Titan of the West, with his light just for kicks.

The group stopped at the bottom of a tall column with a sphinx sitting on top. Ray told him it was a stele; a grave marker, for a girl around twelve, like his own current age. The explanation Mr. Brunner gave was the same as his brother's, making him remember that Mr. Brunner was once Ray's teacher too.

Mr. Brunner started explaining the carvings on the side of the column. Some students listened, while the few truly hardcore ones took notes, while the rest just talked to each other. Unfortunately, he stood close to the chatters, while he actually wanted to listen to what the old teacher was saying.

Everytime he told them to shut up, Mrs. Grelod would shoot him with laser eyes. Another proof that she didn't like him. If he knew why she disliked him, then he could stop doing whatever it was that made her hate him, then maybe she would go bother someone else.

Mr. Brunner kept explaining about the carving, pointing at one.

Nancy snickering about a naked guy on the stele was the breaking point. He turned around and grinded out, "Will you shut up?"

However, right at the moment he said those words, most of the chatters died down.

The group laughed. Mr. Brunner raised an eyebrow at him. "Do you have a comment, Mr. Jackson?"

His face was on fire. "No, sir."

"Is that so? You have been listening then?"

"Uh... yes sir."

"In that case." Mr. Brunner turned to the stele once more and pointed to a carving. "Can you tell me what this means?"

He never thought it would happen, but Ray's lecture just saved him. "You mean Kronos eating his kids?"

"Yes." The next few silent seconds was what made Percy realize the teacher was waiting.

"He did that because..." Ray told him a dozen times when they were here, but when he actually needed the information, they fled to the deepest corners of his mind. "He was the King..." Titans, Gods, Giants... what was Kronos again?

"King...?" Mr. Brunner waited. The group stared at him expectantly.

"Titan!" The word struck him. "Kronos was the King Titan, and he didn't trust his kids, who were the gods, so he ate them."

"But?"

"But... but his wife his baby Zeus, and gave Kronos a rock to eat instead, right? Then Zeus grew up, tricked Kronos into barfing his brothers and sisters-"

"Ew," someone said behind him.

"-then the gods fought against the Titans in this huge war," Percy continued, ignoring the disgusted sound. "And the gods won."

A few muffled laughter behind him.

"As if this is important." Nancy snickered. "When we got our job application, there's gonna be a question, 'Why did Kronos ate his kids?'"

Her friends laughed along with her.

"Magnificent question, Miss Bobofit." Mr. Brunner nodded. "Why would this matter, Mr. Jackson?"

Grover and a few others snickered.

"Oh, shut up," Nancy hissed.

If he wasn't in his current situation, Percy would've laughed right along. Mr. Brunner was the only one who could hear Nancy saying things, one of the reasons why Brunner was his favorite teacher. He could hear anything, like a radar.

Percy thought about the question. For some unknown reason, this bugged him.

Ray told him that people learn history to prevent the same tragedies and mistakes that happened in the past to happen again, but he doubted a guy eating his own babies, then his wife hiding the last baby and replacing it with a huge rock, then the guy eating said rock, then the last baby growing up and having his father puking out his older siblings, who were alive inside the guy's stomach, would be replayed in real life.

Finally, Percy just shrugged. "I don't know, sir."

"I see." Mr. Brunner frowned. "Regardless, you obtained half-credit, Mr. Jackson. It is indeed correct that Zeus used a nauseating mixture of mustard and wine to make Kronos disgorge his five older siblings, who, as gods, lived fine and grew up undigested inside the Titan King's stomach. The gods defeated their father, sliced him up with his own scythe, and threw away his remains into the deepest pits of Tartarus. With that out of the way, I believe it is time for lunch. Mrs. Grelod, if you please?"

The group walked away from the stele, following the biker-looking teacher outside. The girls looked like food was the farthest thing away from their minds, as their faces turned green, while the guys just pushed each other around and pointing at the naked statues, laughing, and generally acting stupid.

Him and Grover waited until everyone left before they themselves walked away, but Percy knew something was coming. Just before they took their third step, Mr. Brunner called for him.

He told Grover to go on ahead, before turning around to face the approaching wheelchair-bound teacher. "Yeah, sir?"

At the moment, Mr. Brunner looked like the man filled with wisdom like Percy imagined him to be sometimes, before the elder ended up in a wheelchair. His brown eyes always had a look as if he had seen everything, knew everything.

"You must learn the answer to my question," Mr. Brunner said, quietly.

"The immortals?"

"Real life." Mr. Brunner corrected. "How the immortals connect to real life. How anything _related_ to the immortals connect to real life."

"Ah." An idea hit him. "Like how Hyperion liked to prank Iapetus by blinding him sometimes?"

Mr. Brunner raised an eyebrow, but now in amusement. "Well, if you wish. But know that what you learn from me- and your mother, and your brother, is very important. I expect the best from you, my boy."

Percy's lips turned into a thin line. Sometimes he didn't like being Ray's brother.

He didn't understand exactly, but he just knew that basically while Mr. Brunner taught Ray, his brother was his star student. Ray knew everything about ancient history. And because of that, Mr. Brunner expected _him _to be like his brother- to _know everything _about ancient history.

He wasn't his brother. Ray was smart, he wasn't. He even turned Gabe from a world-class jerk to a genuinely likable guy, for crying out loud!

Percy couldn't remember ancient names. He still couldn't pronounce all of them correctly. He couldn't remember all of that. He asked his brother one night while he was working on a homework, just what was the secret for being so smart in ancient history.

Ray had this faraway look, and said that it would happen to him eventually. He said that as if it was a bad thing.

Well, whenever it was, it wasn't happening anytime soon.

He mumbled something about trying harder, and Mr. Brunner dismissed him. As he walked away, he glanced back at Mr. Brunner, and saw the elder staring sadly at the stele, like he knew who the girl was personally.

~0~

Most of the class sat on the front steps of the museum, eyeing the traffic of Fifth Avenue. Nancy was trying to put something wiggling inside a woman's purse, some guys hurled crackers at nearby pigeons, while the rest tried to eat normally.

With the sky being as dark as it was, Percy couldn't tell when exactly was the time, just that it was still noon. Maybe it was global warning, or maybe aliens, but the weather never stopped getting weird since last Christmas. Snowstorms, icestorms, thunderstorms, normalstorms, you name it, it happened. If a meteorstorm started, Percy wouldn't be too surprised.

Like some of the more normal kids, him and Grover sat away from the rest of the group. It was a tactic to make people think they weren't from the school of freaks and weirdos.

He knew mom and Ray worked hard to make enough money so he could enroll in this school, but still. Though, at least it was better than public school- at Yancy, the teachers knew they were freaks and weirdos, so they knew how to handle them.

"Detention?" Grover asked, pulling him away from that memory.

"Nah." Percy sighed. "Mr. Brunner wanted to talk me again. I mean, we all know I'm far from a genius."

Grover didn't say anything for a while. Just when Percy thought his best friend was about to say something inspiring to cheer him up, he said, "Can I have your apple?"

Percy shrugged, and handed it over to him. He didn't have much appetite anyway, especially after hearing the being-cut-into-pieces story earlier.

As Grover devoured his apple, Percy stared on ahead at the traffic below, the yellow cabs lining the road and waiting for a passenger. It would be so easy, he thought glumly, to just hop in one and go back home.

It wasn't even far, just a few miles uptown. Mom would be glad he was home, hugging him and telling him how much she missed him. But as soon as it happened, she would be sad, and would likely tell him to return back to Yancy. Despite the fact that this was the sixth school in sixth years and he was very likely to be kicked out again.

And, well, he wanted to be someone... worthy.

He may not be smart, but he wasn't a total idiot. Whatever work Ray did, it brought them as much, if not a little more, money that mom made. And most of that money were spent on the damage repairs on the things he had broken, like the school bus and elephant replica.

He costed his family a good fortune. If he didn't have this darned ADHD, who knows, maybe his family could afford something nice for a change.

Percy inwardly groaned. He wouldn't be able to stand mom's sad look and Ray's troubled gaze at home.

Just as he shoved the thought of leaving the museum away from the front of his mind, something overshadowed him. He looked up, not being too amused.

Nancy Bobofit and her big and ugly friends grinned at him. She was probably bored of sneaking live frogs inside tourists' bags. Before he could do anything, Nancy dumped her half-eaten lunch on Grover's lap.

"Oops," she said, looking back at him with a knowing grin.

Percy reined in his anger. He knew _exactly _what she wanted from him, and he wasn't going to let her have the satisfaction. But it was hard. Several school counselors had told him over the years after he got into fights. "Hold your anger, count to ten," they had said.

But enough was enough. Nancy was an irritating jerk who never stopped bullying his best friend. He was so enraged he could barely think. The next thing he knew, Nancy was inside the fountain, face planted on the bottom.

Percy blinked. "What the-?"

Nancy lifted her face from the fountain floor, and screamed, "Percy pushed me!"

A wild Mrs. Grelod appeared. The kids around them started whispering.

"Did you see it?"

"The water..."

"It just grabbed her!"

Percy winced. He had no idea what happened, but he knew he was about to be blamed for it anyway.

Mrs. Grelod pulled poor little Nancy out of the fountain and made sure she was okay. No bruises, no cuts, no anything. After the teacher promised her they would get some new clothes from the gift shop, she turned around to look at him.

Mrs. Grelod smiled. It was a scary, almost delighted smile. Apparently she was waiting for him to lose his cool. "Now, dear."

"I know." Percy sighed. "A month erasing workbooks..."

Oh great. It just flew out of his mouth.

Mrs. Grelod turned around. "Come with me."

"Wait!" Grover suddenly yelped, pushing Nancy's and his own lunch off his lap. "It was me! I pushed her!"

"What?" Percy stared at him. It was impossible- but it actually happened. Grover was deathly afraid of Grelod, and yet he was trying to cover for him.

And there was a lot of emphasis on trying. Mrs. Grelod' glare made Grover shudder as if he was naked in a blizzard.

"Is that so?" Mrs. Grelod asked, looking between Percy and Grover a few times.

"N-!"

"Yes!" Grover cut him off with a nod.

"I don't think so." Mrs. Grelod turned back to Percy. "Come, dear."

"But-!"

"You. Will. Stay. Here." Mrs. Grelod ordered slowly and forcefully, as if Grover was a disobedient little child.

Grover turned to him in desperation. Dismissing his friend's abrupt change of actions as nothing weird, Percy shrugged. "It's fine, G-man. Thanks for trying anyway."

"Dear." Mrs. Grelod hissed at him. "Now."

Nancy grinned at him.

He gave her his promised death stare, and followed the teacher back into the museum. Before he reached the bottom step, a hand pulled him back.

"Percy, do you still have Ray's pen?" Grover whispered furiously at him.

"What?"

"Do you still have it or not?"

"Y-yeah, I do." He was getting confused at Grover's tone. "What's wrong?"

The pen was something special. Ray gave it to him when he was eleven, a year ago. He said to keep this pen safe, but he didn't explain further.

Well Percy didn't care anyway. It was a gift from Ray, an item to remember him by. Besides, the pen was cool- the ink glowed bronze, but it didn't look girly like glitter. He could never lose it too. It was awesome.

"Nothing!" Grover said nervously, when Mrs. Grelod turned to look at them from the top of the stairs. "Just... you might need it."

Percy was filled with dread. "A month _filling _workbooks?!"

"Yeah." Grover nodded. "Probably."

A shudder went past him, and without further prompting, he climbed the stairs into the museum. Mrs. Grelod was nowhere in sight, so he could only guess that she was already inside the building, probably tapping her shoes to the tiles impatiently.

Surprise, surprise, she was already at the other side of the room, entering the Roman and Greek gallery. Percy doubted he was out talking with Grover for so long, so how did the teacher managed to walk so quickly. Did she sprint or something?

Percy had to jog to reach her. The gallery was empty, except for the two of them. Mrs. Grelod was growling at a marble display of the Greek gods. The sound made his skin crawl.

Right before he reached a few feet from the teacher, Mrs. Grelod turned around to look at him. The look in her eyes was... dangerous.

He suddenly didn't feel too safe. He pulled out Ray's gift- his bronze pen- out of his pockets and fiddled with it. For some reason, it felt heavier.

"You have been giving us problems, dear," Mrs. Grelod began, walking around him. Like a cat stalking its prey, he uncomfortably realized. But that was probably a coincidence. "Do you truly believe you can outsmart us?"

He tried his best to not stare blankly at her. "No, ma'am?"

Mrs. Grelod raised an eyebrow. "Then you confess?"

"Er... ma'am, I don't-"

"Wrong answer, dear." She sneered.

...was his mind playing tricks on him, or was the shadows actually moving?

Glancing down, he realized that yes, the shadows were moving. They moved as if being sucked by a magnet.

And Mrs. Grelod was the magnet. Blackness gathered around her feet, as she she just stared at him and cuffed her leather jacket.

He took a step back. His pen's weight increased.

"Hand it over, dear. And I assure you, you will suffer less pain," Mrs. Grelod simply said.

What on earth was she talking about? The only reason she would say these things was if only the staff knew he was selling mom's baked goods and/or candy ilegally from his dorm room, but that hardly caused any problem. Well, except some sugar rushes here and there, but generally no problem at all.

Or maybe they found out he never actually read the books the teachers assigned him to do, and instead got it off from some of his nonchalant smarter classmates? Reading books reminded him of that time in third grade where a teacher tied him to a chair and forced him to read a book, since having Dyslexia and ADHD wasn't normal, the teacher reasoned. Tom Sawyer's, he still remembered. He had a mental breakdown several times in that session. He still had nightmares about it.

Mrs. Grelod huffed. The shadows climbed her pants, turning it pitch black, but it didn't stop there. "Time is not a luxury you have at the moment, half-blood."

Half-blood?

The darkness enveloped her, and her eyes glowed like fire. She grew larger until she was a good few feet taller than him. Her hands elongated into claws, and a pair of leathery wings sprouted out of her back. She grinned at him, revealing rows and rows of yellow fangs.

Mrs. Grelod wasn't Mrs. Grelod. Whatever this thing was, it was going to kill him if he didn't do anything soon.

He didn't thought things could be weirder, but it did. The pen he had been holding on suddenly transformed. From a fancy-looking bronze pen to a three-feet tall bronze blade.

Mrs. Grelod lunged at him, wickedly sharp claws aiming at his throat.

Percy yelped, fear and confusion overtaking him, as he stumbled aside. He could feel the whoosh of air as the talons slashed the space where he once stood.

He quickly staggered back to his feet just the moment Mrs. Grelod whirled around and charged once again. The sword- was it Ray's?- seemed to hum in his hand, reinforcing the idea of what he had to do, but his limbs were shaking so bad he was actually quite surprised he hadn't dropped to the floor cowering in fear.

Mrs. Grelod came nearer and nearer. Clenching his eyes shut, Percy held the blade tightly in his hand and did exactly what his gut commanded him to do. He swung the weapon.

Hisss!

"...oh my."

At the sound, Percy cracked one eye open. Five sharp, yellow talons were mere inches from his face. But it wasn't moving. He dared himself to look further behind the terrifying hand.

It wasn't a clean cut. Mrs. Grelod was cut in a half, but literally. The cut reached half of her body. But instead of blood, golden sand spilled through the wound. Mrs. Grelod stared at the bronze sword embedded in her chest in what looked to be surprise. Then she lifted her face so she could look at him in the eyes.

Her eyes burned like fire. But somehow, Percy could tell dark amusement were painted in there.

"I knew holding back would do nothing good," Mrs. Grelod mused, still looking at him. "What was Lord Hades thinking, I wonder?"

"...uh?"

"You don't understand? Congratulations, dear!" Mrs. Grelod cackled with barely restrained rage. "Your first kill is a Fury!"

"I- wh- what?" Percy was getting more and more confused.

"But do not fret, boy." The red gaze burned through him. "The next time we'll meet, I will not hold back."

Mrs. Grelod exploded into golden sand. But the way she glared at him, with so much malice and promised pain... he knew that look wouldn't go away for weeks, if not months. The sword clattered to the floor.

It was then Percy realized he was taking quick, rapid breaths. He fell back on his behind, putting his face in his hands. When his breathing came back normal, he finally looked up.

There was nobody in there.

There was no golden sand.

There was no sword.

In front of him, on the floor, was his pen.

...was he imagining things?

Taking a deep breath, he stood up, snatching his pen. He stumbled outside the museum, barely noticing the slowly trickling crows of tourists entering the building. Outside, it started to rain.

Grover sat on the last steps of the museum now, crowding with their classmates. Nancy was instead at the fountain, still dripping wet from her diving experience, grumbling to her friends. She saw him first, and growled, "I hope Mrs. Kerr whipped your butt."

Percy stared at her. "Who?"

"What do you mean, 'who?' Our teacher, idiot."

He blinked. They never had a teacher named Kerr. Deciding that she probably hit her head on the bottom of the fountain or something, he approached Grover instead.

Percy asked him where was Mrs. Grelod.

"Who?" Grover asked.

The slight pause and reluctance of meeting his eyes meant he was _probably _lying, but Percy hadn't really paid attention when Ray told him the signs of somebody lying so he could be wrong too.

Still. "Not funny man." He frowned. "This is serious."

Thunder boomed. Grover winced, and hugged himself.

Percy noticed Mr. Brunner sitting in his wheelchair at the bottom of the handicapped ramp, reading a book under a red umbrella. The old teacher would know what was going on.

So he walked over to the elder.

Mr. Brunner looked up when he approached, eyes a bit distracted. "Yes, Percy?"

"Sir, where is Mrs. Grelod?"

The old man stared at him blankly. "Who?"

"Mrs. Grelod. The biology teacher. She's the other chaperone teacher here."

Mr. Brunner's eyebrows furrowed, concern flashing in his brown eyes. He leaned forward, like he was inspecting him closely and carefully. "Percy, there is no Mrs. Grelod in this trip. As far as I know, there is no Mrs. Grelod in Yancy since I've began teaching in Yancy years ago. Do you want to go to the medic?"

~0~

"_Jackson, he used the pen."_

"...I'm a bit busy here Perce so you might want to wait a bit."

"_I believe you deemed this matter to be of utmost importance."_

"Can this wait? I'm in a really tight-" BANG- "situation over here."

A sigh over the telecommunication device. _"What is the problem now?"_

"Underworld if I know." Ray frowned, checking his revolver's bullets. How long did it take for Marcus' weapon to reload again? A minute? Two? "I'm being chased by two Furies. They keep screeching at me, 'Hand it over' and 'Give it back'. Did Alexa stole something from the Underworld?"

"_I don't think so."_

Blast it all. If he knew the reason for the Underworld's most feared torturers to come flying at him at full speed, he'd know how to escape them too. This could be troublesome.

"_Do you recquire assistance?"_

Ray glanced behind him, toward the fountain in the middle of the parking lot. If he could reach it, he could fight back. "No, no. You're in command of the crew for now, Percival. Take care of this 'utmost important' thing you're talking about."

"_Understood."_

The device crackled, a small earpiece with a really really small MarcusBryantTM insignia on its side,then went off. Ray shoved it inside his pocket, knowing that it would hardly bent in there. He took a peek from his cover, an alcove of some sort, and immediately ducked back. A stream of flame went racing past his hiding spot, and made a line of ash on the ground.

"It is useless, godling," one of the Furies snarled somewhere. The problem was, every one of them looked and sounded exactly the same so he had no idea who was who. "Give us back what you stole and I assure you we will not torture you to death."

Thunder boomed.

What kind of compensation was that, Ray wondered. Bending the Mist to his will, he made an illusion of himself running out of the alcove and into the open area. To his dismay, the illuson wasn't burned to ashes. That meant the Furies could see through his illusion.

Great. One card lost. The other option was talking with the Furies and plan an escape as he did, but he had already done that and ended up being chased to Hotel Plaza's somehow empty parking lot.

Everything was supposed to be simple too. He just got a few non-fighting days, which for him was quite the luxury, but of course as soon as he could visit his mother at the apartement, a couple of Furies would burst from crevices on the ground and started demanding he return 'it'. He was so surprised he barely noticed they managed to evaporate his bottle of water, making him virtually defenseless.

Where was Stalker when he needed that damned bird?

"Squawk!"

As if said bird could read his mind, the crow's crow sounded indignant. Then again, knowing Stalker- or specifically, having no idea what Stalker was, he somehow probably could.

Stalker swooped into his hiding spot and landed on his shoulder. He lifted his right talon and pointed straight ahead.

That meant there was another cover right in front of his current one, but the problem was how to get there. There were two Furies right outside, waiting for him to make his move.

Come to think of it, where were-

Ray immediately ducked when a line of fire so hot it looked a bit white almost cut his head off. Stalker screeched, annoyed, and jumped at the Fury's face. Both tumbled to the ground in front of him. Seizing his chance, he jumped over both of them and sprinted past as the other Fury's whip grazed his left foot, leaving a searing pain on its wake. It burned, but manageable.

When his revolver felt heavier, he knew it had reloaded. So as he ran for cover, he aimed his gun at the quickly approaching monster, and fired several bullets. Most of them missed, and the only one able to hit his target was melted in mid-air by the Fury's fluid slashes of her fire whip.

Cursing inwardly, he finally reached the second cover, which was behind a car. The fountain was only several yards away, but the Fury was now definitely chasing him.

Ray took a deep breath, and stood up, firing several bullets to the Fury's general direction. She flew up, effectively dodging all of them, and swooped down, one talon outstretched and the other pulled back, preparing to strike with her fire whip.

He gritted his teeth, and his stomach clenched. A 'beam' of water shot from the fountain and slammed into the Fury, making her screech and fall, but it was barely deadly. Ray jumped back from the car as she fell on top of it, crushing the metal frames and glasses under her weight. She glared at him with pure hatred as the car's alarms blared.

A black shape zipped away from the other side of the crushed car and roughly landed on his shoulder. Stalker hissed, several black feathers smoking, but the bird's beady black eyes glinted with pride.

The other Fury appeared, furious. She lunged, jumping past her sister and the screaming car. Quick as lightning, she cracked her whip. Stalker flew away just in time, but the same thing couldn't be said with him.

Ray choked out a scream as he fell to his knees. There was a burning cut on his chest, and his reddened palm informed him that it was bleeding. WhyonOlympuswoulditbebleeding? The whip was burning for crying out loud!

He wasn't given the time to mend his wound as the first Fury had recovered. Her sister flew up as she _flipped _the goddamn car into his direction.

He managed to stumble out of its path just in time, but in his haste he landed with his scarred chest on the asphalt. Ray hastily pulled back, hissing in pain. Oh great, now the parking lot had a red mark on one corner.

The second Fury dropped down from the sky right in front of him, barely giving time for him to recover, and snarled. "Die, honey."

Something gripped his neck, and suddenly he was flying. Then his head hit something hard, and his vision blurred.

For a few seconds, he stayed still. Pain raged on the back of his brain.

"Ugh," Ray muttered. Oh how he hated his life. And these two bat women. It was hardly fair how they ganged up on him.

Shakily, he tried pulling himself out of his position laying on the ground. His hand slipped, and he fell back on the wet ground. Dimly, he noted two huge black shapes walking slowly toward him, both holding bright red ropes.

Wait.

Wet ground?

His eyes lolled around to look at the grass surrounding him just the moment his vision became stable. Water pooled around him, and he could feel the cut on his chest closing, his light-headedness disappearing.

Ray lifted his head, and looked behind him.

The car crashed into the fountain, completely destroying the bowl, making water fly everywhere.

"Last chance, honey," the Fury who threw him warned. "Give us back what you stole."

His gut clenched.

The fountain became a concentrated explosion. Gallons of water slammed into both Furies, throwing them back a few feet away.

"Can you not understand," Ray croaked out, standing up. Gah, his throat hurt, and there was a ringing in his head. "That if I have whatever it is you're searching for, I would've given it to you the first time you asked for it?"

Both of the Furies spluttered, coughing out water out of their mouths and noses. Ray groaned again, holding one hand to his forehead. Did he hit the fountain or something?

Glancing back, he noticed a red splash on one side of the fountain, dripping down to the pooling water, making them all slightly red.

Well. Thunder boomed overhead, and when Ray looked up, the sky turned gray, droplets of water started falling.

Cracks could be heard as a weapon made out of frost rose from the water beside him. Interestingly enough, it was red, a result of the water mixing with his blood.

He turned around just the moment one of the Furies recovered and charged at him, roaring. He thrust his hand out, and the frozen sword shot right into the monster's chest. Instead of barreling into him, she crashlanded in front of him, before dissolving into dust, dropping into the water and disappearing.

"Megaera!" the remaining Fury screamed. "You will pay for that, godling!"

"You burned my wallet!" Ray complained, holding up his melted wallet and the few cash inside for emphasis. "How am I supposed to pay for it?!"

The Fury screeched, flying into the air. Her whip glowed bright, and she swung. A huge fireball came hurtling into his direction.

Eyes quickly widening, Ray thrust his hand to the fireball. Water surrounded him, and burst outward into a ball of liquid, rushing to meet its counterpart.

When they collided, a heavy mist descended into the parking lot. From deep within the clouds of white, the Fury snarled. "You will suffer, honey!"

Ray took a deep breath, and focused. The feeling in his stomach intensified, as tendrils of water formed from the puddles surrounding him and rose. They immediately shot off into the mist.

He could see flashes of orange light as the last remaining Fury fought back against the onslaught. Which wasn't supposed to be that hard, considering Ray only knew the monster's general location and thus just flailed the tentacles with reckless abandon.

His head pounded, and he swayed on his spot, but he still stood. The head injury hadn't seem to heal properly. He needed time to heal that type of most probably serious wound.

The mist dissipated when a flaming arc cut through it, also cutting off most of his tendrils. The Fury looked aggravated at most, and was barely hurt.

But she had revealed herself to his sight, and that was already more than enough.

Stomach twisting so hard it started to hurt a bit, Ray thrust both of his hands with a yell. Dozens of water tendrils exploded from the fountain, hurling themselves into the last remaining threat.

Said threat swung her whip, evaporating the several farthest tentacles, but the others remained focused on his target. Quickly, they wrapped themselves around the Fury's limbs- including her wings, and pulled down as quickly as they could. He made sure the water squeezed around her wrists the hardest, to make her drop her weapon.

The Fury screamed as she was slammed to the ground, probably because he just broke her wrists. She crashed into the asphalt, sending a dust cloud upward, but he knew she wasn't dead yet, evidenced by the effort he had to put into his tendrils to keep her still.

Slowly, he stumbled to her. The effects of using water profusely while severely wounded had finally arrived. He needed to end this quick. So, before the Fury could even shout curses at him, he had already put his revolver against her forehead and pulled the trigger.

After she disintegrated, only then he let go of the water. They splashed uselessly to the ground, and Ray could feel his energy returning bit by bit. The rain helped with this process.

"Well." He breathed. He rubbed his forehead, relieved that the dread-inducing headache didn't appear. "That takes care of that, I suppose."

Stalker flew down, from wherever he was watching him struggle in a life and death situation, and landed on his shoulder. The bird squawked almost a little bit too jovially to his liking.

"Whatever." Ray rolled his eyes. "They should be appearing right about... now."

Right after he said that, the doors to the hotel burst open, and tourists started pouring out of the building, looking disoriented. As Stalker flew away from his perch, Ray cloaked himself with the Mist to make himself invinsible, and fled the scene. He could only imagine the looks on their faces when they saw the fountain crushed under an upside-down car.

When he reached a little bit further into Central Park, he allowed himself to slump down on one of the benches, the Mist disappearing off of him. Stalker landed beside him, on the bench's backrest, and started cleaning his scorched feathers. Neither of them were bothered by the rain.

Ray took a deep breath, checking off several things. Alive? Yes. Wounded? It would seem so. Did he look like a hobo? Perhaps.

What did Percival said to him before he disappeared? Something about a pen...

Frowning, Ray pulled out his telecommunication device.

He grimaced. When he put it to his ear, the only thing he heard was just jumbled statics which confirmed his suspicion that the thing was busted.

Sighing, he put it back into his hoodie pocket. Marcus would be able to fix this. But the problem remained, he couldn't ask Percival again on what he had said exactly.

Something about a pen. And a guy using said pen. How was that relevant to anything?

Percival also said that Ray had deemed this guy using this pen to be 'of utmost importance' so it was probably important. But he didn't remember anything about a pen. Only a sword that was disguised as a-

He froze. Quickly, dread and panic filled him to the brim.

Anaklusmos. That was the pen he had deemed to be of utmost importance. Because he had given it to _Percy._

If it turned into its original sword form, that meant a monster _attacked his brother_.

Ray jumped to his feet, surprising Stalker so much the crow flew up a bit. Percy could be hurt, or worse! Godsdammit, why would the Furies attacked him the moment a monster attacked his brother?!

A chilling thought crossed his mind. There were supposed to be _three _Furies who served Hades. He had killed two, but where was the last one? Could the last one be...

Could the last one be attacking Percy?

He started hyperventilating. He needed to calm down. Deep breaths, deep breaths.

Today was a school day, so Percy was supposed to be at school, but his younger brother did tell him that his class was going to a field trip. Percy didn't tell him where- he was probably too bored to listen to the teacher announcing the trip.

However, Grover and Chiron was with him, amd they could protect him, at the moment. Percival and his friends were headed to Percy's last known location, so his brother's safety was reinforced.

Still... he was extremely worried. If one of the Furies did attack his brother, with the intent of reclaiming... whatever it was that was missing from the Underworld, which meant Hades himself ordered the attack on him, which meant the Furies wouldn't be the only things the Underworld God has in store for them.

Another thought entered his mind. He froze. He was worrying about Percy so much, even though he knew his friends were the most capable fighters in camp, he forgot the other person he cared most in the world. And this other person was far more defenseless than Percy if Hades chose to target her.

"Stalker." The bird looked at him. "Bring me to mom's current location. I'll follow you from behind."

The crow's black eyes lit up with purple light, and he flew away. Ray sprinted after him.


	11. Snakes On A 'Merica

~0~

_Snakes On A 'Merica_

~0~

Percy refused Mr. Brunner's offer.

Imagining things wasn't too uncommon for him. He didn't know if the cause was his ADHD or dyslexia, but he kept seeing weird things almost daily. People with animal legs, wings, or horns, giant dogs- you know, small things. Since nobody around him reacted to those small things, he just shrugged it off as his mind playing tricks on him.

But this felt a bit too complicated for a mind trick.

"Are you sure you've never heard of Mrs. Grelod before?" Percy asked.

"I'm sure, man." His classmate rolled his eyes. "Seriously, what is up with you?"

"I... nevermind."

After the classmate returned to his seat, shaking his head, Percy crashed to his own seat, tired and confused. It had been a few minutes since the trip to the museum ended, and before they left, he asked every single person from Yancy in the museum if they knew Mrs. Grelod.

How on Earth did nobody remember her? Everyone shuddered in fear whenever that name was mentioned in any way, shape, or form, but now everyone stared at him like he was crazy just by claiming a teacher named Grelod existed.

Was his sickness so bad he had imagined Mrs. Grelod since Christmas? But, then how did Mr. Brunner and the others reacted to Grelod if it was his imagination?

They were trapped in a rain and a traffic, with barely a few minutes ride from the museum. Cars and trucks honked all around them. The bus ride back to Yancy was noisy with kids' chatters, but it wasn't the most important thing right now.

The most important thing at the moment was the woman sitting in the front row seat of the bus, happily humming to herself.

Mrs. Kerr, a perky middle-aged woman who entered the bus like everybody else at the end of the tour, with nobody finding it strange. According to everyone, _she_ was their biology teacher since christmas.

The pen in his pocket felt heavier. Was it his imagination too, or did it actually turn into a sword? Was this the reason why Ray gave him this? Did he know this would happen?

As weird as it is, he didn't think that all of this was only his imagination. Other than the fact that he didn't have the creativity needed to imagine freaking weird stuff like this, again, everything was far too complicated for it to be a hallucination.

And Grover was just a plainly bad liar.

When they reached Yancy, Percy would drag his best friend back to their dormroom and interrogate him.

~0~

Whenever something needed to be done, Ray was the one who decides what operation must be taken. Percival was the one that decides who goes, then where, when, and how the operation must be done.

Both of them acted with their mind. He knew Ray would hardly call him impulsive, and vice versa. However, he also knew Ray would hurl logic and reason out of the window at high speed if one name was to be mentioned in missions and quests.

Which was the reason why he refrained from actually saying Percy's name and instead using the word 'him'. Ray would immediately forgot what situation he was in, and demand his brother's location. And then any threat he was already facing would take advantage of his sudden panic and most definitely kill him.

Not saying Percival himself was immune from recklesness, of course. Sometimes, he ended up doing something he regretted later, like, say, acidentally killing the monster they were supposed to capture in for interrogation (in his defense, he didn't expect a telekhine to have a heart condition. Who would?).

In a way of support, Alexa assured him one of them would execute the monster after the interrogation anyways, but still, their search for a rumored hidden automaton workshop was delayed for weeks.

Now, when his emotions got the better of him, he stopped thinking with his head, and shifted gear to his gut. His instincts acted as a guide, and most of the time, they never failed in their job.

Thus, he started trusting his instincts more- after all, they could detect things his mind failed to process first.

Sitting in the Mist-cloaked sedan Alexa stole from some Brooklyn rich man, trapped in the rain, Percival's gut was telling him something was coming. The thing about instincts was that they never specified about whatever it was they detected. Be it an event, machine, immortal or mortal creature, the signs were all the same. Didn't matter it was good, bad, or in-between.

He simply told Alexa, and their newest recruit one Sophia James, to be on their guards.

"SL-four-seven-five-nine." Alexa lowered her binoculars. "That's the bus' license plate, right?"

"Correct." Percival crossed his arms. "It's right in front of us?"

"Yup."

The fact that they were stalking Ray's little brother wasn't lost on Percival, but he shrugged it off. "James, can you tell me where Chiron is?"

The girl fumbled with the device somewhere behind them, in the back seat. "Uh, the front row seat, sir."

"Anticipating an attack?" Percival mused out loud. "And where is Grover?"

"He's on the third row from the front, on the right."

"Probably waiting for another attack," Alexa agreed.

"Perhaps. Do you see anything wrong?"

"None at the moment."

The traffic was a surprisingly good method of protection from any wandering monster, though Percival was under no illusion that monsters wouldn't simply crush any mortal standing in their way. However, due to the large amount of mortals in one place, and not to mention the smoke from the vehicles, a half-blood's smell could be significantly reduced, until the traffic ends.

"Sir?" Sophia piped up.

"Yes?" Percival glanced to the rearview mirror, catching the new recruit's eyes. She looked back down to Marcus' device on her lap, which was the size of a laptop. The silent son of Hephaestus explained that it was an 'identifier', whatever it was.

"I think this might interest you, sir. I found something... odd."

"Explain."

"Well, I ran the entire bus through with the identifier, and there was only one person that didn't fit with the document on who should've gone on this field trip. Her name is Amanda Kerr, thirty years-old, from New Zealand, and it said she's a... jazz singer?"

Alexa perked up eagerly. "A monster?"

"I don't think so, ma'am." He didn't miss the upwards twitch on Alexa's lips. "Her Facebook account is filled with status updates and pictures of her. She's a mortal, but she's not supposed to be in that bus."

Interesting. "Is there someone supposed to be in that bus that isn't?"

Sophia nodded. "There's one. Her name is Pauling Grelod, fifty-years old, from Germany. She's a biology teacher in Yancy, and is supposed to be one of the chaperone teachers aside from one Edward Brunn- er, I mean Chiron."

Grelod. Pauling Grelod. Ray told him (well, more like complained, really) about an old teacher named Grelod who seemed to hate his younger brother. Could this be the same one?

"Any information on how she disappeared?"

"No, sir. And, weirdly enough, I don't think either the students or the faculty seem to realize this. They look so... calm. Well, bored and tired, mostly, but none of them looked worried or alarmed."

"Could she be the monster?" Alexa glanced at him.

"Possibly. How is Percy looking right now?"

"Uh... sorry sir, but which one is Percy?"

Oh right, Ray didn't have the time to corner Sophia and bombard her with stories and baby pictures of his brother yet. Marcus and Alexa were the ones who had the unfortunate experience.

"He's..." It had been awhile since he had seen the kid. "Somewhat short. He has black hair, and green eyes. Simply put, imagine a green-eyed, younger version of Ray Jackson."

Sophia nodded. It only took exactly three seconds for her to find him.

"He's sitting right next to Grover. He looks... scared and confused... oh, poor kid..."

If scared and confused wasn't the feeling someone had after fighting their first monster, Percival didn't know what was.

"She's the monster~" Alexa said in a sing-song tone.

"We can safely assume so." Percival nodded. "What was Chiron planning on doing with him? That is not the direction of camp."

"Probably something like 'let him enjoy his normal life for a moment' or some other crap." Alexa rolled her eyes, putting the binoculars on her eyes again. "The kid's probably thinkin' he's crazy after seeing his teacher change into... whatever the hell she was. If I were him, I'd doubt I'm in any way normal."

"Are you under the assumption that you're normal?" Percival asked.

"Oh, shut up," she said, smacking his shoulder with her free hand. "Jeez, sometimes you got a gods-know-how-long stick shoved up in your arse and sometimes... shit."

The alarm on her voice made him reach for his blade. He let the insult and curse go, for now."You see an enemy?"

"Yeah, but I don't know what that is. He... looks like a really big snake, but... he's got no tail, only heads on both ends. He got chicken legs too. Oh wow he's pretty fast."

Percival looked ahead, and saw a long, green creature running in the traffic. Cars honked as the creature ran past them, and he assumed the mortal drivers only saw a wild animal. With the rain, the sight was probably blurred even more.

"An amphisbaena." Percival frowned. His gut was doing three-sixties. "What is it doing in New York?"

"Don't know, don't care," Alexa said happily, opening the door and stepping out. She put on her hood, and turned on her cloaking device. "Hey, chicken noodle! I want your scales!"

As Alexa ran after the snake, Percival picked the binoculars from her seat. The road was full of vehicles and cursing drivers in said vehicles, and to his dismay, he could spot several other amphisbaenae charging at the bus, the rain and the lighting making their scales glow a bit.

These monsters were desert dwellers; the fact that they were in a metropolitan city was a clue enough that something was wrong. These snakes were deadly, and they could spit venom from _both _of their heads. Someone wanted Percy dead fast, it seemed.

He lowered the binoculars. "Sophia, wear your ear piece. I want you to direct Alexa and I on what directions are these monsters approaching. Can you do this?"

Sophia nodded. "Yes, sir."

Without further discussion, he stepped out of the car, readying his adamantine sword Einblick on one side, and his handgun Irrsin on the other. He put on a hood- Ray made every member of the Keepers had a hood in their clothes- and pressed a button on his belt (MarcusBryantTM). A blast of cold air hit him, and the Mist shrouded his entire body, making him invisible to the mortal eye.

And he charged.

The first snake-monster didn't see him coming, so with a fluid twirl of Einblick, both of its heads dropped to the ground, followed closely by its body. He didn't wait for the corpse to disintegrate, and set his sight on another amphisbaena crawling atop a truck's cargo.

It jumped from the vehicle, but Percival was waiting for it, so it landed right atop his blade. The disintegrating corpse slid down to the hilt, but with a flourish, it flopped on the road. He ran further to the school bus, shooting and slashing any snake he came across on his was there.

Thankfully because of the traffic and the rain, no cars were moving, so it was somewhat safe to run around on the road. Though he could only imagine the look on the mortals' faces as they saw an invisible thing butchering wild animals on the road.

"_Sir, some are climbing down the building on your left," _Sophia informed him.

Percival glanced up, seeing the snake-chicken hybrid scaling down the wall of a nearby building the moment a lightning struck. "Alexa?"

"_You shouldn't have asked!" _the girl laughed through the device.

As he ran further to the bus, he glanced at the building. The monsters fell down like flies, crossbow bolts sprouting from their necks and/or heads. They turned to dust before they could crush the mortals' vehicles on the road below.

He turned around, slicing another amphisbaena in a half like it was butter. A quick three-sixty glance revealed that the rest of the amphisbaenae had realized the two of them, and started scurrying faster to the bus. Some mortals had bewildered looks at the sight in front of them. One even pulled out his phone and started recording them slaughtering monsters.

Percival was about to order Alexa to shoot the phone, but then he realized the Celestial Bronze crossbow bolt would be wedged in the phone and leaving such material to mortals was a massive disaster waiting to happen. The idea itself would give Ray aneurysm. So, he dashed to the mortal's car and thrusted Einblick, the blade easily stabbing through the glass and cut the phone in a half.

Instantly, he pulled his sword back and turned around, ignoring the man's scared yelp as he dropped both halves of his phone. He aimed his gun Irrsin at an amphisbaena snapping its jaws at the school bus' front right tire, and pulled the trigger. The head on the right exploded in a cloud of monster dust, and the one on the left screeched in pain.

The remaining head caught sight of him- glowing red eyes filled with pain and contempt- and spat a ball of green liquid moving as fast as a baseball.

If Percival had the time, he would've scoffed. Instead, he ducked and shot the head in one move. A scream made him glance behind him, and he saw the poison melting the front window of a car. The mortals inside, a woman and someone who was probably her toddler daughter, screamed. The former in fear and the latter in excitement.

He sighed, and quickly moved to the driver's side and opened the door. Well, tried to. The door was locked. He had no time for distractions, so he shattered the glass with the hilt of his sword, and unlocked the door from the inside.

If the mother had any some sort of common sense, she would pull herself and her baby out of the car. If they didn't found any shelter from the rain then it was none of his concern. Leaving them, Percival continued on his journey to the bus.

But first, he pressed a button on the side of his ear device. "Alexa, can you try to prevent their venom spit? The mortals might not be so lucky to be trapped inside a melting car."

"_Woah, what? They can spit- oh shit they can."_

"Language."

"_Whatever."_

Percival shook his head. His adamantine bullet made a hole on the neck of a nearby monster, so he waited for it to magically reload. "Sophia, are there any incoming monsters?"

"_No sir. At least, not yet. Though some snake-chicken monsters are climbing the other side of the building on your right as we speak."_

"Nothing we can do at the moment." He agreed, then turned off the comm. Irrsin had reloaded.

After tearing through three other amphisbaenae, Percival was pleased to see the number of monsters had dwindled significantly, and the remaining one was retreating out of the traffic. Not a few mortals had now climbed out of their vehicles and stood gaping at them, but thankfully they hadn't pulled out their phones yet.

"_They're here, sir," _Sophia informed him.

"Alexa."

"_I see them."_

Alexa dashed in front of him, readied her crossbow, and shot them down when they started climbing down the walls. Knowing she could handle it all alone, Percival walked leisurely to the bus. He heard a warning from Sophia, and swung in an arc behind him, slicing through a monster easily. He turned around, and looked at the bus.

And saw Percy staring straight at him, jaw agape.

He idly remembered Marcus explaining that the cloaking device were specifically created to be useless to anyone with even a drop of immortal blood in them.

Ray found out that some gods were paranoid about them, ever since the Fylakés were made known to the immortal public. To earn their trust, he asked Marcus to do something about their cloaking device.

Not quite knowing what to do, Percival just nodded at him, and continued forward.

~0~

It was three in the afternoon, so he had no idea why mom was at the apartment. Her candy store didn't exactly have holidays. Then again, if she was hurt or captured, their home was a logical location for her to be in. Still, Stalker led him here, and that weird bird was never wrong when guiding him, so she must be here.

By the time Ray reached the apartment, he was wheezing and panting. And his stomach was throbbing and hurting, though the rain lessened his suffering. Compared to the others in his crew, his endurance was laughable. Stalker flew down, landing on his shoulder and continued to preen his feathers.

He wanted to tell the bird to fly into the apartment first, but held his tongue. Stalker was just as tired, if not more, than himself, so forcing him to fly at the moment was technically animal cruelty. Still, animals weren't allowed in the lobby and in his tired state he wouldn't be able to properly manipulate the Mist.

Sighing, Ray pointed upwards. Stalker didn't have any facial expressions, but his beady black eyes clearly showed he was disgusted as he flew.

When the bird disappeared completely, Ray took a deep breath. He brushed off dirt and blood from his clothes, trying his best not to look like he just got smashed into a fountain. The rain had healed most of his wounds- though most importantly the cut on his chest and the wound behind his head- so it would be easy to simply hide most of his ruined clothes.

He stepped into the lobby, smiling at the receptionist. "Good evening."

She smiled back. "Good evening to you too."

Swiftly, he entered the elevator and punched in mom's floor, and only when the doors had fully closed did he let himself slump on its wall. Gods have mercy, he really shouldn't have run all the way to the apartment.

As the elevator climbed up, his worry started growing again. Was his mom okay? Hades was not above playing underhanded tactics- she could be hurt in more ways than one. What would he want with her anyway? As leverage? Why would he need leverage in the first place? Just what exactly was Hades searching for?

And what about Percy? Was Percy okay too? Did Hades sent a Fury after him? Percival said that he used the pen, so he must be able to defend himself, right? Right?

Ray took a deep breath. His mind was going haywire again. He trusted his friends, he really did, but he just couldn't stop worrying about his family. They were his family, dammit. Of course he wouldn't stop worrying.

The doors opened with a _ding_. Abandoning the idea of calmness entirely, he scrambled out of the elevator. The apartment door was closed, but Stalker was nowhere in sight.

Ray scowled. He pulled out his revolver, checking if he had enough ammo. Six bronze bullets materialized in the chamber of the weapon right before his eyes, then he put it back inside the weapon. He gathered water from the rain outside, and formed a frozen sword, hovering by his side.

He reached the door handle, and he frowned when he found out it wasn't locked. Where was Stalker anyway? Steeling himself, he opened the door.

And saw mom feeding Stalker crackers on the living room couch. Gabe sat beside her, staring intently at several pieces of papers on the coffee table as if it had personally offended him. The tv blared about the news, explaining yet _another _plane that had fallen into the sea this morning.

Ray sighed, the blade melting away. The sound of his sigh made mom turn around, and her face lit up when she saw him standing in the doorway.

"Ray!" mom laughed, standing up. Stalker crowed in annoyance. "This is a pleasant surprise! I didn't think you'd be home for at least a week!"

Gabe also looked at him, surprised. Then his face morphed into a smile. "Well, well, well. Look who's here. How's work, kiddo?"

"Pleasant enough," Ray replied, making an illusion of him shrugging while in reality he was discreetly holstering his revolver. Mom didn't like firearms, no matter the fact that it couldn't harm her since it only had Celestial Bronze bullets anyway. "We've _almost_ had one week free of explosions, and that's a nice change."

Gabe chuckled, then returned to reviewing the documents strewned on the table. A quick glance revealed that it was a list of complaints, so nothing important.

There was nothing inside the room that could imply that a monster had infiltrated their household, but Ray was _not _going to take any chances. He had enforced the windows and doors with shards of divine metal when his family was asleep, so any monster who would burst through said objects would die on contact.

"...Ray?" mom asked, sounding worried. "What happened?"

He looked at her, and realized that she was staring at his leg. Where his pants were torn open by a burning whip. Thankfully, the fountain's water had healed the wound, but mom's look might as well suggested that his leg was mangled.

"I'm fine." Ray shot her his most energetic smile. It would work on most people, but unfortunately, his mother was immune to his fake expressions. "I just tripped over some wires."

"It's _charred_." Mom pointed out, frowning. "Do you want me to bring you salt water?"

"It already healed." He sighed, giving up. "There's no need."

Mom wanted to protest, he could tell, but she hugged him instead. He gladly returned it, too relieved to think about anything else. That was a lie, he sincerely hoped the blood on the back of his head was gone. "Oh, Ray, I'm just... I'm just glad you're home safe. Are you tired? Do you want a bath?"

"Nah." A bath sounded very enticing at the moment, but that was a not a pleasure he could do at the moment. "I'm just going to go to my room and take a nap."

He need to get the traps in his room and spread it around the entire apartment. He also had several of Marcus' energy grenades- those that deal damage only to living creatures and nothing else.

"Okay, honey." Mom smiled, but the worry crept into her eyes. "I'll wake you up for dinner, alright?"

"Sure, mom." He smiled back, hugging her one more time. His anxiety aside, he really was glad to be home at last. "Oh, uh, is Percy home?"

"No, not yet." Mom shook her head. "You know he should be home before Christmas."

_Christmas_? Freaking _Christmas? _He better set his traps quick, and ask for coordinates from Percival. He was getting extremely paranoid, though he believed it to be justified. And more than that, he needed his pills for his stomach.

~0~

"Grover, are you seeing this?" Percy turned to him.

Grover was trying his best to merge with the seat, dodging any incoming projectile sent by the kids on the back of the bus. "See what?"

"Look outside, man!"

He seemed confused, but he still relented. When Grover took a peek outside the window, he paled. His breathing became faster, and his fingers kept twitching. He didn't even budge when a ball of spit landed on his cheek. The hooded guy sliced another snake thing in a half, then jumped on the roof of the bus.

Well, it was obvious Grover could see it.

"Dude!" Percy shook his friend's shoulder. "Are you okay? Do you know what's going on?"

"Uhh... uh..."

Percy cursed internally. He got out of the seat and made his way to the front of the bus, where Mr. Brunner sat, reading his novel from before. He ducked as a paper airplane sailed above his head, and jumped over a bag on the middle of the bus.

What was Percival doing here? And why the heck was he killing these weird chicken-snake things? Were they another monster like- like Mrs. Grelod? Then was Mrs. Grelod real?

He clenched his pen- now he was sure it could turn into a sword for real- and trudged forward. Mr. Brunner _really _should answer his questions honestly this time.

"Sir!" He whispered as loud as he could. "Mr. Brunner!"

Mr. Brunner looked up, distracted. "Yes, Percy?"

"Are you seeing what's going on right now?" Seriously. Was everybody suddenly blind or something?

Mr. Brunner's eyebrows furrowed. "Is something going on right now?"

"Look outside!"

The teacher raised an eyebrow, but he turned around. Right the moment the hooded guy dropped down from the bus, one of the snake creature's corpse falling down right next to him, then he shot another snake-thing approaching the bus. It slumped to against the side of the bus, dust instead of blood splattered on the asphalt. Then he looked up.

Percy's eyes widened. It was Percival.

Mr. Brunner stared blankly at him. Percival raised an eyebrow, and pointed at the door.

"Sir, just what is going on?" Percy was getting really frustrated. Nobody was giving him straight answers today, and this was getting ridiculous.

Mr. Brunner sat still for a few moments. Then he took a deep breath, and turned his gaze to the bus driver, pointedly ignoring him. "Can you please open the door, Mr. Scott?"

Percy's eye twitched. "Mr. Brunner!"

The driver blinked. He looked at Mr. Brunner. "What?"

"The door, Mr. Scott. Please open it."

"Uh... sure?" Mr. Scott pressed a button on the side of the steering wheel, and the door slid open.

Percival, clad in a black coat, entered the bus with weapons concealed and hood down, then snapped his fingers. A breeze of cold air went through the bus, making Percy shiver. Instantly, the sounds from the bus died out. He turned around, and saw that all the kids had sat down on their seats, eyes glazed over.

Percival turned to Mr. Brunner, displeased. "Jackson will not be happy if he knows about this."

Mr. Brunner sighed. "I'm aware, Percival."

Percival's frown became lower, and his older brother's friend turned to him. "Percy, are you hurt?"

"I- no, why would I be hurt?" Now he was getting confused _and _frustated. That was not a good combination.

"Good. Grover!"

A yelp, and Grover scrambled over to the front of the bus, wiping his cheek. "S-sir."

"Get ready to leave. You too, Percy."

His eyebrows shot up. "Me?"

"Yes, you're in danger." Percival explained, scowling as he looked outside. One of the monsters dropped to the ground as both of its heads were shot by... an arrow? "We'll have to bring you to someplace safe."

Percy just stared at him, speechless. He was almost killed by his teacher- that no one believed existed- who turned into a demon, then his brother's friend suddenly appeared in the middle of a traffic slaughtering snake-chicken monsters.

And now Percival did something weird to his entire class, told him to bail out of school, and claimed that his life was in danger. Then again, considering Mrs. Grelod, that last part was actually the most reasonable thing he heard today.

"Get ready to run, you two," Percival ordered. He glanced at Mr. Brunner. "You're coming?"

"Somebody needs to explain their disappearance, lad."

"Very well." Percival nodded. He whirled around to face the door, scanning the area outside. Some people were screaming, and most, if not all of traffic had stopped. The drivers who were still inside their vehicles kept spamming their horns. "On the count of three."

Percy blinked. "Wait, right now?"

"One," Percival growled, shooting something outside and putting his hood up again.

"Grover, just what the heck is going on? You know Percival?"

"Two." Percival holstered his gun and pulled out his silver sword.

"We'll explain later, Percy," Grover said, nervously shuffling his feet. "It's not that safe here."

Why was Grover nervous? Then it struck him. "Wait! Grover can't-"

"Three!"

With a metal-like grip, Percival's free hand caught his wrist and pulled him with surprising strength. His own legs had trouble catching up with Percival's speed. Percy glanced back, extremely worried that Grover couldn't follow them, and was surprised to see that somehow, Grover ran his signature weird run after them quickly.

And he was even more surprised to see Grover had ditched his shoes, and there were hooves where Grover's legs should be. His weird run wasn't a run at all- it was a quick trot.

Percy shuddered, thinking he was seeing stuff, and focused back on following Percival. Grover could run, and that was the most important thing.

They danced around cars, the rain barely slowing them down. Nobody seemed to notice two kids being pulled away by a hooded stranger, or they just felt it was too much of a bother to get out in the rain.

Percival cut down any... monsters (because he had nothing better to explain them) standing in their way. One monster almost took a bite of his face, jumping from the roof of a car, but an arrow struck its neck, sending it flopping away.

Soon, they got out of the main road and into an alleyway. Grover and him were panting, but Percival didn't look winded at all. The guy waited for them to catch their breaths, and then guided them to an empty corner of the alleyway.

Percy looked around. His clothes were drenched in sweat and rain water. "What are we doing?"

Percival merely snapped his fingers, and fancy black sedan materialized right in front of their eyes.

Percy's eyes widened. "What? How?"

"You two, sit in the back." Percival ordered, manuveuring his way around to the driver's side. "Alexa?"

Silence for a few seconds. Grover pushed him to the car. The clop-clop-clop sound his foot made when he walked was a hint that something was not as it seemed, but with all the weirdness happening today, Percy was afraid that if he looked down, he'd lose his mind.

"Very well," Percival suddenly said. Percy noticed he was speaking to an earpiece. "Meet us at the- what is that?"

The last part was said in such a way that Percy tensed. He could tell it was trouble.

Percival scowled. "Are you sure?"

"Percy!" Grover said. "What are you waiting for?"

He turned around, and saw that the door was open. He climbed inside, sitting down on the seats that looked really, _really _expensive.

"How did Percival get a car like this?" Grover wondered out loud, staring at gold-plated cup-holders.

"We stole it."

She spoke so suddenly both of them jumped.

The teenage girl sitting right next to Grover smiled. Her long blonde hair was sprawled freely on her back, and there was a laptop on her lap. "Hi. Are you two okay? I can do some first aid stuff if you're hurt."

Grover and him shared a look. "Uh... I don't think so, but thanks anyway."

The girl laughed, blushing a bit. "Sorry, sorry. It's just, this is my first rescue mission and I'm just glad you two are safe. I'm Sophia."

Percy had to think about those sentences. "Rescue mission?"

"Sophia, tell me of the coordinates Alexa sent us," Percival suddenly said, sitting on the driver's seat and starting the car. "It's the place where Alexa last seen a rampaging boar."

Sophia immediately began to type some things on the laptop. As she worked, Percival pulled the sedan back from the corner as the snake monsters started entering the alleyway. Percy thought the guy was going to turn around, but they kept going backwards until he heard the sound of traffic behind them.

And then suddenly he was slammed to the door, Grover himself slammed to him. The car turned around without losing speed, the tires letting out loud squeals, and Percival immediately stomped on the gas.

Percy pulled his throbbing forehead back from the glass. "Ow."

"Ow." Grover agreed.

"Got it." Sophia announced. "It's at the East Seventy-eighth street, near Bloomberg Philantropies, sir."

"Not that far," Percival muttered. "Sophia, kill as many as you can."

Sophia nodded, and closed her laptop as she pulled out a bronze handgun. She turned around in her seat, and fired several rounds of bullets through the rear window. Percy looked back, and saw the snake things turning to dust one by one.

"Okay," Percy said, fed up of all this stuff without knowing a single clue on what the heck was going on. "Can anyone please start explaining what's happening?"

"You remember about that time when your mother drove us away in a taxi from a monster?" Percival asked without missing a beat.

He was surprised. "That was real, too? I thought I was dreaming..."

"No, that was very real. And this time, it's your turn to be chased by a deadly monster."

"Great." Percy sighed. He idly remembered about a creature the size of a bus that could spit fire chasing them across a bridge, but that was all that he remembered. He guessed he was still too young at the time for the memory to be tattoed in his brain. "Did Ray gave me the pen because he knew this would happen?"

"He was expecting something like this to happen. You used the pen?"

"Er... yeah." So, in a way, Ray knew something like this was going to happen. "Where is Ray?"

"Jackson..." Percival trailed off. "He's missing at the moment. He was on his way back to your home, but he got ambushed by some monsters."

Fear took hold of him. Ray was _what_? "W-what did you say?"

Sophia patted his shoulder before firing again. "He's missing, but we do know he's alive, so don't worry."

"Yes," Percival agreed. "And knowing him, he either went to your house, or searching for you."

"Why?" Percy was getting worried again. "Is mom in danger too?"

Percival opened his mouth to reply, but then closed it again, thinking about it. "I... don't think so," he finally said, slowly. "But the possibility is still there. We're here."

The car stopped right as thunder boomed. Percy looked through the window and saw overturned cars- some were even scorched black. Hooveprints were left on the asphalt, meaning the pig was so heavy it made prints on _asphalt_, and the size was way larger than any pig he's ever seen. People took pictures, and one was calling the police. But the giant pig itself was nowhere in sight (and that was a good thing, of course).

"That pig is trouble?" Grover asked, worried.

"Might be. By Alexa's explanation, it's possible that the pig is the Calydonian boar."

Silence. Even Sophia didn't seem to understand. Grover asked what Percy was thinking. "And that's a problem... why?"

Percival glanced at him through the rear view mirror. "It's a giant boar. It has near-impenetrable hide. It has tusks the size of Indian elephants' tusks. And it breathes lightning."

"Oh."

"And," Percival added, turning the car to where the hooveprints were heading. "By its tracks, it's heading straight towards your apartment, Percy."

~0~

"Yoo-hoo, Mrs. Jackson?" a teenage girl opened the door to her apartment. "Are you home?"

The girl was around Ray's age, Sally noticed, with long black hair- though one had a blue streak on her left side, wearing a dripping wet black hooded coat. What alarmed her the most, other than the fact that she just easily bypassed her lock, was that she held a metallic crossbow on her right hand.

"Er... yes?" Sally stood up from the couch. Gabriel was snoring on the couch in front of her. "Anything I can help you with?"

"Oh great." The girl groaned. "You _are_ here. This isn't good."

"Are you a friend of my son?" Ray told her that monsters, even in disguise, would just skip the pleasantries and take the first opportunity to tear you to pieces, but since she didn't do anything of the kind Sally assumed she wasn't a monster. "Is something wrong?"

"Yeah, we gotta get you outta here." She checked her weapon. "Do you have any car we can use?"

"Alexa," Ray said as he entered the living room, his crow on his shoulder. "Can't you explain things to her first? And why must she leave?"

"Holy crap, you're alive?!" the girl gasped. "This is great! I thought I was gonna have to explain to your momma that you died on the way here."

Sally froze. "What?"

"She's joking." Ray sighed. Stalker flew away from his perch and stood on the coffee table, snacking on his cookie. "Now, explain."

"Okay, okay." The girl, Alexa, took a deep breath. "A giant thunder-breathing boar is heading straight this way."

"Godsdammit!" Ray cursed, storming into the his room. When he returned, he had several bottles of water attached to his belt and he was wearing the same coat as Alexa. "Ugliano!"

"Huh- wha?" Gabriel immediately sat up, face still sleepy.

"Start the car, we're leaving this place _now_!"

As the man scrambled into his room for his car keys, her oldest son turned to her. "Mom, go with Gabe and Alexa."

Alexa's eyes widened. "What?"

Ray shot his friend a look before returning his attention back to her. "There's a chance that whoever sent that pig is coming for you, so I want you to be safe. I'll divert its attention to a less populated area, and when you're at a safe place, Alexa, you and the rest regroup with me and we'll take care of it."

Sally couldn't believe she was hearing this. "Ray, that's dangerous!"

"But necessary," Ray replied grimly. "I was ambushed by two Kindly Ones on my way here, and they claim I had stolen something and they want it back. It's possible that this pig coming for you. I will not have any of that. Now go."

"Wait! Ray-"

"Gabriel." Ray turned to Gabriel just as the man returned. "There's something rampaging through town, and I'm afraid I'm its target. It's a classified government project. I want to escort my mom to a safe place- Alexa will guide you."

All things aside, Sally was scared and amazed that Ray could say outrageous lies like that with a straight face, much less making it sound believable. Gabriel would've doubted, years ago, but the fact that Ray was rarely home (and sometimes returned home wounded) and had a firearm in his possession convinced him.

Gabriel nodded, eyes burning determination. "I will."

"If my mom is hurt, I swear to God I will have your hide."

"And I swear to God that she will not be harmed by anything."

"That's what I want to hear." Ray smirked, then he turned serious again, facing her. "Good luck."

And then her eldest son, one of her greatest pride and joy, had the nerve to throw sleeping dust right at her face.


	12. Babe, Pig In the City

A/N : Alright, we all know I'm a terrible guy for leaving this story for so long. If I were you, I wouldn't forgive me either. However, I'll have you know that I've spent several weeks writing the whole plot of the Jackson brothers' journey. Lord, I even tried making a prophecy (which ended in tragedy because I suck at writing poetry).

Still, I'm sorry. I'll try sticking to a schedule, no matter how terrible it might be.

Disclaimer : Percy Jackson and its properties are owned by Rick Riordan. I only own my Original Characters.

~0~

_Babe, Pig In The City_

~0~

"Sophia, a car shrouded in Mist is heading in our direction. Scan it."

"Yes sir."

Car shrouded in what? Percy looked up, trying to loosen the uneasy knot in his stomach. Several yards in front of them, on the other lane, a sleek blue Camaro came speeding. An expensive car like that Chevy was a rare thing in their neighbourhood, and only one guy had that car. But the last time Percy saw Gabe's Camaro, he didn't remember it to flicker in and out of sight.

"Sir," Sophia informed. "Miss Alexa is in that car."

Percy blinked. "That's Gabe's car."

"Which means Alexa is with Gabe." Percival frowned. The tell-tale signs of him wanting to slam the steeling wheel sideways appeared, so Percy gripped his fancy seat for dear life.

A squeal of tires and Grover slamming into him, and now suddenly they were on the other line of the road, facing the other way. The rain pounded harder on the road, so Percival had turned on the wipers.

"Alexa?" Percival asked. "Come in, Clayton."

A few seconds of silence, and then he frowned even deeper. "Where?"

Percival sighed. "...of course. What of Jackson?"

Percy perked up, hopeful. Grover groaned, rubbing his forehead as he pulled away from the back of the empty passenger's seat.

Percival glanced at him through the rear view mirror. "...I see. We'll follow you there."

Before Percy could even ask his brother's condition, Percival beat him to the punch. "He's fine," the young man said without looking away from the road. "Alexa found him in your apartment while she was searching for your mother. He was wounded, but he's alive."

Percy slumped on his seat, feeling as if a huge weight had just lifted off his back. Ray was fine. Of course his brother was fine. He was Ray.

"Wait." He sat up again. "Wounded?"

"He was ambushed. Didn't I tell you this earlier?"

...Something prickled on the back of his neck. He didn't know if it was intentional or not, but Percival's fairly and sudden condescending tone irritated him. He was just worried about his brother. "Okay, but why is your friend in Gabe's car?"

"Alexa searched for your mother to escort her to a safe place." Percival swerved past the overturned car they passed earlier. "Your step-father and her are heading to one of our safehouses, near John Jay park. We'll drop you there."

He really shouldn't get offended. He definitely shouldn't get angry. Percival and his friends knew better how to deal with this giant pig, and they sure as heck know better on how to help his brother.

But still, to be just treated like he was nothing more than a baggage didn't make him feel any better. Even though he knew he _was, _technically, baggage, as Sophia mentioned that she was glad this rescue mission was a success. Being rescued by someone else never lifted anyone's pride either.

Percy's fists clenched, but he sighed. "Okay."

Percival glanced at him through the rear view mirror, then turned his eyes back to the road. The guy's shoulders relaxed, and his hands which gripped the steering wheel loosened ever-so-slightly, his tense demeanor lifting a bit.

Percy's rage immediately disappeared, and he felt like kicking himself. Percival and the others probably already had enough problems in their hands, and him being a whiny kid wouldn't help anyone. Heck, it might just get them hurt. It was probably better if he stayed in this safe house with Gabe and mom while the pros take care of this monster.

Sophia smiled, putting a soft hand on his shoulder. "Thank you for understanding, Percy. If you got hurt or worse, I won't be able to live with myself."

Grover let out a breath of relief. "Oh, thank the gods. I thought you were going to say no and insist on coming along with them."

Percy gave him a look. "Give me some more credit, G-man. I'm not that dumb."

Grover merely grinned at him. Mentally promising himself to eat enchilada right in front of Grover without sharing later, he turned to Percival. "Is this a right time to ask some questions?"

Percival raised an eyebrow. "Shoot."

"Alright." He took a deep breath, and turned to Grover, much to his friend's surprise. "What are you?"

Grover blinked. "What?"

With the revelation that all of his other family members in danger, he didn't remember to ask more questions about the hows and whys this new world was. One of which, was his newly revealed half-barnyard best friend. When he glanced down to said barnyard half, Grover followed his eyes. "Oh. Oh yeah, I forgot. I'm a satyr, if you don't know."

Percy strained to remember. Ray probably explained to him what satyrs were, long ago, but he couldn't remember. "A half-guy, half... donk-"

"Blaa-haa-haa!" Grover let out his weird laugh again, though now seeing his lower half, now Percy realized it was more like an annoyed bleat. "No, we're not half-donkeys! We never was, and never will! Don't say that to a satyr, it's offensive to us, and some will trample you for that. We're half goat, Percy. Goat, not donkey."

"Okay." He nodded, still confused. "You... know Percival?"

"Well, yeah. All satyrs know about the Fýlakes."

"What?" Since when did asking questions made the guy asking said questions become more confused?

"It's our organization," Sophia explained. "Fýlakes means 'Keepers' in Greek. We go to the city to search for dem- er, for kids in trouble like you, and help them reach camp safely."

Percival shot her a warning stare through the rear view mirror right as she was about to say the dem something. He knew that look because sometimes mom and/or Ray would give him that look before he did something he may or may not regret later.

"What? What's dem?" Percy's eyebrows furrowed.

"_They_ are people like you, like us, who, for some reasons unknown, is fit to be food for monsters like the one running to your apartment," Percival said. Then he glanced at him. "It's they, not them. And it's are, not is. Learn proper grammar, Jackson."

"What?" Was this 'Make Percy Confused As Heck' day or something? "No, I mean, what was that word Sophia was about to say but you gave her this scary face so she didn't?"

"Ah. That. Well." Percival shrugged. "It's a fairly mind blowing fact, and I believe it's better if we explain it to you where it's safer and calmer."

Percy grimaced. That meant he would probably find out about it later at the end of the day. "Okay, yeah, fair enough. Grover, can you please continue explaining satyrs?"

Grover blinked. "Oh, uh, well... satyrs like me search the world for... people in trouble, like you. And then, uh, we try getting them to a safe place on our own. And if we can't, we'll call for help from the Keepers, and while we wait for help, we make sure those people in trouble like you don't get killed by said problems."

"Huh." A bad feeling entered his stomach. "Wait, if they're here, does that means I'm in serious trouble?"

"Not, really, no. It's just Ray's doing. He doesn't want you to get hurt."

Was it just him, or did he just hear the _teeniest _bit of envy in Grover's voice? "What does Ray has anything to do with this?"

"That pen of yours had a tracker on it." Percival explained this time. "Don't worry, it won't detect your movement twenty-four hour. The tracker only activates in sword form, so we know that you're in trouble and your position, so we can send help for you."

Percy pulled out his pen and stared at it. Ray's gift which now felt more and more important the more he knew about it. Had his brother planned everything for his life or something? He knew this wasn't necessarily a bad thing- it was the complete opposite, in fact- but he really didn't like someone else meddling with his life.

Ugh, he was whining again. Ray did all this to protect him, because his brother probably knew that he wasn't prepared for something like this even in his wildest dreams. Even when they were older, Ray's purple eyes always see everywhere and everything. And they never stopped watching out for him.

"We're here." Percival stopped the car. Gabe's Camaro was in front of them, with Gabe, wearing a yellow raincoat, climbing out of the car and a teenage girl wearing the same black hooded coat like Percival and Sophia on the other side. "Grover, wear some pants. We don't want Ugliano freaking out."

Together, the girl and Gabe pulled out an unconscious person from the backseat. A... woman.

Wait.

"Mom?!" Percy's heartbeat quickened. Was his mother hurt?

"Don't worry." Percival climbed out of the car, giving him a glance as he raised hood. His annoyed grey eyes implied that he really wasn't that happy to keep repeating the words 'don't worry'. "She's asleep. You can thank your brother for that."

Ray's sleeping dust. He didn't remember feeling that thing's effect, but he had seen Ray using it on people when they irritated him and he already had a crappy day. It could put people to sleep in a terrifyingly fast time.

"Percy?" Grover asked him, standing outside with an umbrella and a new pair of pants and shoes, confused. "What are you waiting for?"

Sophia and Grover had already left the ride, leaving him gaping at his mother.

"Oh, right, sorry." He scrambled out of the door.

Gabe caught sight of him. "Percy! Thank God you're okay."

The guy had lost weight, Percy noticed. He wore glasses, ever since last year when Ray found out he couldn't see too far ahead. He couldn't see the top of Gabe's head under that yellow raincoat he wore, but he wondered what was the fate of those three hairs he had.

Mom was leaning against him, sleeping and snoring. Percy could tell his older brother knocked her out around the afternoon, because she wore her gown that she only wore when she was feeling lazy and that meant she had been home for a while.

"We passed that government project Ray talked about." Gabe sighed. "Man, that was terrifying as hell. I was worried about you, but I'm glad you're fine."

Government project? Percy glanced at Percival, but he didn't see it. "Thanks. I'm glad you two are fine too."

His step-father smiled at him, ruffling his wet hair. Percy couldn't help but smile back, remembering when he was little, when Gabe was an absolute jerk. It really was a far cry on how he is now, but he wasn't complaining.

Percival stepped forward. "Ugliano."

Sophia, now in the same hooded coat like Percival and that other girl, handed Percy an umbrella. He opened it, and watched as Percival talked to Gabe about something. Gabe looked a bit shaken, but he kept nodding at whatever it was Percival said, careful to not wake mom up as he held an umbrella to keep them dry. The blue-streaked girl, Alexa, jumped around in the puddles, twirling a bronze butterfly knife with her fingers and whistling.

With the heavy rain going on, John Jay park was obviously empty. He could hear the sound of sirens in the distance, coming faintly from the direction of his apartment. Nobody was out, and the only people weird enough to stand in the middle of the rain were just them.

It didn't take long for Percival to return. "Underwood, in any other time, I would've given you the order to return to camp with Percy. But with the current circumstances, leaving the two of you alone with Hades seemingly keen on claiming your lives is unwise. Stay at the safe house, understand? We'll return after we deal with the boar."

Grover winced, but he nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Very good. And Percy?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't do anything stupid." Percival warned. And just like that, the young man strode over to the driver's side of the fancy sedan and entered the car. Alexa skipped over to the passenger's seat, not before shooting him a lopsided grin. Sophia smiled warmly at him, and climbed into the backseat.

Then the car squealed out of the sidewalk and into the rain. Percy stared at the car's retreating form. "What is up with that guy?"

Grover sighed. "Oh, don't take it personally. He's like that to everyone. Let's go."

Together, they came side-by-side to Gabe, who fumbled uselessly with a door. The building was old and rundown, with paint peeling off showing the brick under it in several places. There were cobwebs in corners and on steel pipes, but for some reason Percy couldn't see the spiders on them.

"Goddammit!" Gabe cursed quietly. "Did that guy forgot to give me the key or something?"

Percy stared at the door. The wood was dark, but he could see something glistening around the material, as if somebody just sprinkled shards of metal on the door. Underneath the handle was no keyhole, but something else. The letter Μ, carved into it.

"An M-shaped key?" he furrowed his eyebrows. "Weird."

"Well, whatever it is, we can't get in unless we have it," Gabe said gruffly.

"I've seen that M before." Grover frowned, kneeling down and touching the mark. "Huh... uh, Percy? Try touching the symbol."

"What? Why?"

"Well, I remember one of the Keepers carved his initial on the things he built." Grover scratched the back of his head. "If I'm not wrong, he carved the Greek letter... er... Mu, I think. Just try it."

Percy though about it for a second. Not like the door would explode if he touched it or anything, right? With a shrug, he knelt down and tapped that Mu/M thing.

The mark glowed a dark blue. _Click!_

Silence.

"...Well," Gabe said, staring at the now opened door. "We can agree that your brother has interesting friends, Percy."

~0~

The coordinates Ray gave them on the GPS beeped and blinked beside the windshield. A metallic voice informed Percival that their destination was just three kilometers away, but the Calydonian boar was an ancient and dangerous monster, and he most definitely wanted to fight it and if possible give it the last blow.

"Gabriel seemed nice," Sophia spoke, a bit quietly.

Alexa and him shared a glance. Several years ago, they went to the Jacksons' apartment once when Ray didn't go to the camp for a few days.

"You have absolutely no idea, newbie." Alexa chuckled beside him. "Man, the first we met him, the guy was an ass. I think the world owes boss for changing Gabe to a nicer dude."

Percival would prefer it if Alexa didn't use such vulgar words, but she summed up Gabriel's first personality perfectly. That bumbling oaf didn't wash even if it could save his life, had an unhealthy obsession with gambling, and an attitude that made him extremely unlikable.

"What do you mean, ma'am?"

He was still wondering why anybody would call someone like Alexa Clayton ma'am.

"Ray called it his 'social experiment'," Alexa started explaining, lowering her backseat so she could lie on her back. "I don't know what exactly happened, but he wanted to change Gabe's personality after some weirdo entered their apartment, years ago."

"Was it a monster?" Sophia asked, worried.

"Nah, just some weirdo, that isn't important. Anyway, Gabe, right? He was an ass, so he didn't care. Ray and Sally was away. Percy was pretty much alone in there. I think he was... six or seven, can't remember. The weirdo was a..." Alexa shrugged. "Well, the type of predator that everyone hates."

"Oh." Sophia paled.

"Yep. Boss got to that apartment right before things got _really _bad. Ray told me he seriously wanted to kill that guy, but having the cops come over and started asking questions about a missing person was a headache, so he broke both of the weirdo's arms with a crowbar and drowned him in the tub for several minutes."

"Oh." Sophia's voice was so small Percival had to strain his ears to listen to that.

Alexa grinned at her. "That's why Ray's awesome. So right anyway, boss didn't let him die, only let him faint in that water. Then, he told me he went down and asked the receptionist to call nine one one, and got back. He was wondering, where was Gabe? Surprise surprise, the asshole saw what was happening, but he was too busy eating nachos in his room."

"Gods, that's terrible..." Sophia looked disturbed. "Percy doesn't remember any of this?"

"I don't think so." This was the first time Percival spoke ever since Alexa started story-telling, so both girls jumped at his voice. "Percy was still too young to understand what was going at the moment, and since Ray stopped things from going terrible, I doubt he even remembers a freak once entered his home and almost had his way with him."

Sophia shuddered.

"Right, what he said." Alexa nodded. "Ray said he wanted to throw Gabe out of the apartment right that moment, but he knew he still needed that asshole-"

"That is enough cursing, Clayton." Percival sighed, after the GPS announced that the destination was just a few blocks away. "We're almost there."

"Whatever." Alexa rolled her eyes, smirking. "So, long story short, boss needed to find a way to make Gabe protect his family. At first, he wanted to threaten that jerk, but nobody would take a kid's threat seriously, so he resorted to something else."

"And that is...?" Sophia looked afraid and curious at the same time.

Alexa grinned the widest grin she ever wore that week as she pulled out a wallet from her coat pocket. Gabriel's wallet. "Bribery," she said simply. "Money talks, after all."

~0~

The pills Doctor Hermann prescribed him lessened the pain on his stomach considerably, but that was his last pill. He would need to order some more if he was to live his life stomach-pain-free for the next month. While the pills Doctor Sanchez prescribed him sat comfortably in his pockets, waiting to be consumed.

Ray took a deep breath, smelling the wet ground as the rain pelted the environment. The hooded coat he wore blocked any excessive heat and cold around him, so he could barely feel the freezing rainy air. He looked down at the construction site he had lured the giant boar in, where the monster wandered around aimlessly, its senses completely altered by his Mist.

The boar was huge, and that was an understatement. Standing at least forty feet tall, with coarse grey hair, gigantic ivory tusks, a black snout, and beady red eyes, glowing with anger. It was pissed, it was powerful, and any frozen weapon he hurled at it bounced off its skin like they were rubber. His revolver barely had any better luck either.

It... wasn't hard to lure it here, all things considered. When the pig saw him standing in the middle of the road, it let out an enraged squeal and charged at him, stomping vehicles and crackling with electricity. The electricity was ten times more dangerous in the rain, where all wet surface was an _excellent _conductor for electricity, so he needed to be careful around it.

Luckily for everyone around him, he had fired off several bullets to the sky and mortals fled the road like it spread the plague. Cops wasn't a problem for him and his illusions anyway.

And luckily for him, the one standing in the middle of the road was an illusion of himself, so he just chewed on a string of cheese as he watched the pig's lightning tusks mowed it down. When it realized his Mist self wasn't red paste on its hooves, he made another illusion just a few feet away. Then it charged at the illusion too.

The cycle happened several times. Ray followed the boar on a 'borrowed' bike as he lured it to an empty construction site. He didn't know what was being made, and he couldn't care less.

So that was his current position and predicament. He had no idea how to kill it, and for the moment, it had no idea how to kill him. Percival would know exactly what this thing was, but he didn't. To him, it was just another dangerous beast that needed to be put down.

Ray blinked when thunder boomed above his head. Stalker landed on his shoulder. "Squawk."

"...You're back," he said, stating the obvious. "Any threats going this way?"

The crow shook his head, shaking rain water away from his feathers.

"Good." Ray stared at the boar again, thinking. "Good..."

The first thing that crossed his mind was to put a spear or a sword through the pig's mouth, but it was filled to the brim with freaking lightning so anything that went through there would just get incinerated.

Ray sighed, pulling out another pack of string cheese from his pocket. Can something be easy for him, just once?

A smooth rumble of engine made him look aside. No mortal would be dumb enough to come to this place, and monsters wouldn't normally use a vehicle, so that meant Percival and the others had arrived. But what arrived almost made him drop his snack.

A black sedan stopped by the sidewalk, its shiny metallic paint made even more shiny in the rain, bouncing off the light from the shrouded sun. Its grills, its iconic symbol, the headlights, he immediately knew what the beautiful car was. The sight alone was enough to make a grown man cry.

Percival, Alexa, and Sophia emerged from the beauty. Schneider glanced at his borrowed bike, then raised an eyebrow at him from beneath his hood. "Jackson, did you... nevermind."

It required great willpower to tear his eyes away from the car. "Alexa, where did you get a Rolls-Royce?"

The girl smiled, putting a bolt in her crossbow. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"So that's the Calydonian boar," Percival mused, purposefully ignoring them. The German demigod stood next to him as he observed the monster sniffing a concrete pipe. "Fascinating. Very fascinating."

"_That's_ the Calydonian boar?" Ray momentarily forgot about the Rolls-Royce for a second. "What is it doing in New York? Hell, what is it doing in America?"

"Either to kill you, or your brother, or your mother." Percival shrugged. "Or just lost. Take your pick."

He glowered at the pig, tearing off another string of cheese from the... well, cheesy string. "Good luck with that, you disgusting creature."

Alexa grinned at him. He remembered that she liked it when he started to insult someone or something heatedly. The newest half-blood he recruited, the girl Sophia James, stood next to Percival, with her most trusted and unexpected weapon in her hands, a double-bladed Celestial Bronze spear.

Ray wasn't the only one surprised when he found out what her preferred weapon was. Even Percival seemed at loss for a few seconds. If she was a daughter of Ares, he could understand, but she was a daughter of Demeter and children of Demeter wasn't the particularly aggressive and fighting type.

She was an anomaly. And anomalies are perfect inclusion for the Keepers. Besides, they needed a healer anyways, and there were no odd Apollo children so Sophia had to make due.

Ray frowned when that train of thought entered his mind. Now was not the time for that. "Well then. Percival, how do make it regret it was ever born?"

"No weapon can pierce its skin." Percival frowned, unsheathing Einblick. Ray really needed a weapon to name himself, that'd be cool. "The hero Atlanta managed to harm it with a special arrow, with which Meleager was able to kill it, but obviously that arrow is unobtainable."

"Ooh! Ooh!" Alexa raised her hand excitedly like a kid in a candy store. Right at that moment, a thunder crashed. "Can we use explosions?!"

"I doubt fire can harm it. But I suppose there is no harm in trying."

As fast as her Hermes-born reflexes could allow, Alexa dashed to the back of the Rolls-Royce (Ray realized it was one of the newer Phantoms), and pulled out a Celestial bronze replica of a Milkor MLG. You know, the grenade launcher.

One of Marcus' toys. Which meant it was filled with... Greek fire ammunition.

Ray grimaced. Alexa blinked and gave him a questioning look, before realization dawned on her face. She winced. "Oh crap, sorry. I forgot."

He shrugged it off, making Stalker flutter in irritation. "It doesn't matter. I'll just put myself in an illusion."

"What's wrong?" Sophia asked, worried.

"What are you waiting for?" Ray frowned at Alexa. "Go."

"Oh... oh, right, of course!" Alexa hastily ran over to the corner of the construction site.

"Percival, make sure she doesn't kill herself."

"_Ja_." Percival jogged after her, not before shooting him a concerned glance.

"Sir..." Sophia approached him.

Despite himself, Ray smiled at her. One of the reasons he recruited her was simply because of her demeanor. She could calm people and animals (and plants). She was, simply put, genuinely friendly. For the Keepers to succeed, he would need people like her.

Percival and Marcus were too serious. People were afraid of them so much some wouldn't even look at them in the eyes. Alexa was a troublemaker since birth, and her current personality made it obvious. Alas, people usually don't associate themselves with troublemakers. Ray himself was a demigod equivalent of a con man. Most would be fooled by him, but the few smart ones would know something was up.

He needed the genuine, kind, parent-like type. Sophia fit the bill.

"Your concerns are well appreciated, Sophia." For real. "But I have dealt with it long before you were claimed as a child of Demeter. Now I'll need a wingman. Can you do that?"

The girl wanted to protest, he could tell. But she relented. "...okay, sir."

Sophia stood next to him, holding her spear next to her uncomfortably and her bag filled with herbs on her back, glancing at him every few seconds. Trying not to sigh, Ray pulled out a plastic reclosable bag and poured one pill on his hand. He would need it.

~0~

"How are things going out there?" Gabe muttered, taking a peek through the folds on the apartment. He held a steaming styrofoam cup of coffee in his free hand, its steam billowing from the cold.

As soon as they entered the safehouse and discarded their wet rain equipment, Gabe carefully laid mom down on the longest and comfiest-looking couch in the middle of the room, before using the coffee machine. Percival's safehouse was weird. Most of the stuff in there were pretty normal- a coffee machine, a fridge filled with coke, milk, and several cheese-based snacks, and a dead television with its cables cut off.

But weirdly enough, some stuff, like the doors and windows, only responded to Percy and Percy only. The same dark blue M that appeared on the front door also appeared on those things too, which could mean one of those Keepers guys made them.

The Keepers, a weird group that Ray seemed to know well. Percy slumped down on one of the couches, and now since he wasn't being chased by something straight out of nightmares, the gravity of the situation hit him. He got... numb. He pulled out his pen, the action that made him realize his hands were shaking, and stared at the thing.

There are things out there, that not just wanted to hurt him, but to _kill _him. People he thought he could trust, like Mrs. Grelod and Mr. Brunner (though he got to admit that if Grelod wasn't a monster he wouldn't probably trust her anyway), had secrets. Mind blowing, weird as heck secrets that didn't make any sense.

Even... even Ray. His older brother that he thought he could trust more than anyone else. Ray had connections to this group, the Keepers. Ray was the one who gave him this magic pen that could turn into a sword. Ray who taught him various geeky Ancient Greek stuff because he knew this would happen.

...Because Ray wanted him to survive. Because Ray wanted him to be able to defend himself. Because Ray wanted him to be safe.

Percy clenched the pen in his shaking hand and put his forehead against it. Now his entire body was shaking. Since when did his entire life had become so complicated? It almost felt like yesterday he was still learning algebra at school, being a normal ignorant twelve-year-old. Oh wait, it _was _freaking yesterday.

He needed... he needed answers. From a somebody he could trust.

He glanced up, seeing mom's peaceful face. Mom... she knew about all of this too, didn't she? He remembered when she said about weird things several times. Like about a camp where Percy might 'not come back'. Or when sometimes Ray waved his wand like he was a Jedi and suddenly the salesman that opened their door turned around and marched away, with mom claiming she never saw anything even though it happened right in front of them.

No. Right now, he couldn't really trust her. Besides, she was asleep. And knowing Gabe, as kind as he was, Percy doubted the guy knew a thing.

And Grover... Percy glanced at his supposed best friend. Grover sat on one of the couches, mournfully munching on string cheese he had raided from the fridge. Grover looked conflicted and nervous ever since Percival and the Keepers left, eating random stuff from the fridge. He also caught the guy sneaking glances at the couch, then at Gabe, before looking even more miserable.

Grover may hid the truth about himself, or about Mrs. Grelod, or about many more things about the world around them, but Grover was his best friend. And he didn't like seeing his best friend being all sad.

"Grover?" he asked. Grover looked up. "Are you okay, man?"

"Okay?" Grover chuckled sadly. "Why wouldn't I be okay?"

"You look... well, sad."

"It's complicated, Percy. I'll tell you later, alright? I'm still thinking about it."

Grover glanced at Gabe when he spoke those sentences. Maybe he wanted to talk when they were alone? And then Percy remembered about Grover being a satyr.

...Yeah, definitely when they were alone.

Sighing, he stood up. Both Gabe and Grover turned to look at him.

"I'm gonna check around, see if there's anything cool," he explained. He needed some time alone to clear his head.

Gabe cracked a small grin. "You sound like a character that's about to die in a horror movie, kid. Be careful, alright?"

Oh, if only Gabe knew how much of a horror movie they were in. "Yeah. Grover, let's go."

Grover blinked. "Me?"

"Yes, you. Let's go."

Grover looked like he'd rather sit on the comfy couch, but still followed him anyway. They walked around to the back of the kitchen, seeing around. Gabe had turned back to look at the window, the frown returning to his face.

There was a door beside the fridge, so Percy touched the handle. Almost immediately, an M glowed beneath it, and the door opened on its own. He glanced back, seeing Grover staring at the floor munching on a cheesy stick, lost in thought.

Shaking his head, Percy walked in the next room and stopped dead. Grover bumped to his back.

Behind the door was a semi-large room on an entirely different intensity than before. Various medieval-looking and modern weapons were set up all over the place, their bronze metal glinting from the lamp's light hanging on the middle of the room. There were weapons like spears, shields, bows and arrows. The modern weapons were guns and rifles and launchers. It felt like he was in a museum, but these things were definitely here to be used and not just to be displayed.

"So..." he walked in first, observing the swords first. A part of the wall was lined with bronze swords, not quite similar to his own pen-sword, but still looked as deadly. "Wanna talk about what's bothering you?"

Grover sighed, knowing he wouldn't be able to escape this conversation. He leaned against the doorway, closing it, and finished up his cheese stick.

"Well, you know I'm a satyr, right?" Grover started after he finished licking his fingers. "We satyrs, like I said before, go out to the mo- er, outside world to search for people like you. We take you to a safe place, to make sure monsters don't kill you. So technically, I'm supposed to protect you."

Percy looked at him. He didn't know how to feel about that. Over the years, _he _was the one who protected Grover from bullies. "You're worried about me?"

"Oh, not you, specifically-"

"Thanks."

Grover rolled his eyes. "Not like that. I mean, I know you're gonna be safe, we're in this safehouse after all. I'm worried about... ugh, now that I'm thinking of saying it out loud, I feel like a selfish jerk."

"G-man, you're many things, but you're not a selfish jerk," Percy assured him. "C'mon, say what's bothering you."

Grover shot him a grateful look, then a took a deep breath. "...As a protector, our duty is to protect people like you. If we succeed on bringing you to camp, we'll be certified Seekers. Essentially adults. That's every satyr's biggest dream. But if we got help from outside, like, say..."

"The Keepers?"

Grover sighed. "Yeah. I mean, if we succeed we succeed, there's no two ways about it. As long as you, and everyone around us, is safe, I'll get to be a full-fledged Seeker. But... being helped doesn't... well, it doesn't really boost our self-esteem, you know? It feels... it feels fake, you know?"

"Gro-"

"I know it's incredibly selfish but to be able to protect people like you on our own feels great you know?" Grover started speaking very fast, looking extremely nervous. "Like you actually deserve to be called a Seeker but being helped by someone else makes you feel like a fake Seeker and I don't want that. I mean this is your life on the line and not mine so I can't say anything but it's just what I-"

"Grover!" During his best friend's rant, Percy walked back to the him and put his hands on Grover's shoulder. Grover winced, like he was expecting to be hit. "G-man, it's not selfish at all. I know how you feel. Seriously, do you forgot who my brother is? Ray will only stop helping me if I force him to stop."

Grover's lips turned upwards slightly, but the frown never left his face. "But this is a life or death matter. And worse, it isn't even my life on the line, it's _yours."_

Yeah, if only he could forget that teeny tiny little fact.

Grover sighed. "If you die just because I want to be a Seeker... I won't be able to forgive myself, Percy. "

"Grover, don't worry. I won't die, and you'll still get your Seeker's license." He assured Grover, despite his own worries about what other things that wanted him dead. "We'll find a way. And even if we don't, there's always a second chance, right?"

Grover whimpered.

He patted Grover's back awkwardly, not quite knowing if he just said something wrong. "Let's get back to Gabe and my mom, alright? We'll figure out something there."

"Alright..."

~0~

"Come at me!" Ray snarled.

That previous plan with the grenades and explosions went sideways fast. Ray was a fan of doing experiments, and one of the things he found out was the Mist did extremely well in cold temperature, and could disappear if exposed by heat.

So, when the grenades exploded around the boar, the heat dispelled the Mist covering its senses. And to make things worse, the first thing the pig saw was him. Also, for future reference, the explosion didn't harm the monster. At all.

So, the pig charged at him, covered in blazing green fire and supremely pissed. The sight of fire made him freeze on the spot.

His PTSD wasn't too terrible, if compared to others who had the same symptom. Since the incident happened while he was young, his brain, apparently, blocked the memory. He couldn't remember what it was, and he preferred it that way. So he wasn't shivering and crying for 24 hours. At most, this so-called PTSD was a minor inconvenience.

He was rooted on the spot. The only reason he wasn't Ray-kebab on the pig's tusks was Sophia's quick thinking. She prayed to several seeds, threw it, and grew a forest right in the middle of the construction site. She then pulled him to the bike, then drove off, Percival and the rest following.

While being chased, Percival and him devised a plan to kill the pig. Since the explosion barely did anything, they decided to kill Caly boar from the inside. Forcefully shutting down its organs from the inside, to be precise.

By drowning it.

Which was how Ray found himself standing next to _The _Pond in Central Park, after ordering all fishes inside to hide at the edges of the lake (because really it was a lake). Then, he willed the water in the middle of the lake to change into salt water, to reduce the conductivity of the lake and the chance of electrocuting every living thing in the lake.

This was a precaution in case Caly boar started breathing lightning when it realized it was drowning.

Now to execute it.

The boar looked pissed. Its coarse grey hair was crackling with electricity and blazing with green fire. Its red eyes glowed, and every breath it exhaled pushed the grass away. Thankfully, the mortals had run away from this part of Central Park earlier, after several rounds of his revolver into the sky.

After Caly saw him, it became even more pissed. It charged at him, howling in rage.

It came closer and closer, like a bullet enwreathed in lightning and fire. Its tusk, as huge as a freaking canoe and sharp as a canoe-sized spear, lowered and aimed exactly at his face.

Shame.

"Sophia!" Ray shouted. Immediately, the vine wrapped around his right leg tightened, pulling him roughly aside. He could only caught a glimpse of confusion in the boar's eyes as it watched him dodge with impossible speed.

It fell into the water, face first. The water exploded around it. Ray instantly went to work, shooting his arms forward. The salt water surrounded the pig, swirling so the electricity wouldn't spread too far while at the same time pushing the pig down, deeper into the lake.

He could feel Caly fighting, at first angry, then confused, then afraid when it realized the lake was fighting back. He kept putting pressure against the pig, forcing water inside its nose and mouth, drowning it. The boar was panicking.

This process wasn't made easy by the hundreds of screaming fishes in his mind, scared for their lives. Absentmindedly, he realized that Sophia had stood next to him, then followed by Percival. Alexa squatted at the edge of the lake. Stalker landed on his shoulder.

The boar fought back to gulp that sweet air, but the lake simply wouldn't allow it. The kicks became weaker. Its movement slower. Water filled inside its stomach and lungs easily.

Oh, the pig was so pathetic when it entered his home turf. He almost pitied it.

Almost.

Then the fight was gone. The boar slacked, became still. Then he couldn't feel the presence in the lake at all, as if it had dissolved. He only realized he had killed the boar when Alexa cheered.

"We did it!" she shouted to the sky. "Fuck yeah!"

"Language," Percival reprimanded her.

Ray let go of the lake. The only thing he felt after that was a mere uncomfortable feeling in his stomach, which disappeared soon enough. He felt the fishes emerged slowly from their hiding spot, carefully. They could feel the residue of electricity in the water, but not so much so it could kill them.

He smirked, panting a bit. He had just killed an ancient monster. The Calydonian boar. By drowning it. It felt extremely good.

"Let it pass once, Schneider," he said, now grinning, standing straight. The adrenaline coursing through his veins slowed down. "I agree wholeheartedly with her. Hell yeah we did it."

Sophia chuckled beside him as Alexa excitedly recited all the curse words she had acquired over the years, though Percival just rolled his eyes and frowned.

"Do not be so excited just yet, Jackson," Percival said, now facing him. "Your brother might still be in danger."

Those sentences eliminated his smile in a flash. How on Earth could he forgot about Percy?!

Panic and fear quickly set in. Thoughts and images entered his mind, reminding what could happen if he didn't do anything quick. His hands started to sweat.

Percival noticed this. "Calm down, Ray. Percy and the others are safe, I put them our safehouse near John Jay park."

"But what if the safehouse isn't safe enough?!" he started breathing quickly. Sophia immediately rifled through her bag quickly, muttering to herself. "What if the defenses were compromised?! What if the scent disruptor was turned off?! What if-"

"Jackson!" Percival slapped him in the face. "Calm yourself. You are thinking irrationally. You and I know that safehouse is the safest safehouse we have at the moment, and we always double check the defenses every time we scan the city for demigods. You need to calm down."

"Okay, okay." He closed his eyes, trying his best to calm his breathing. "I'm calm, I'm calm."

"Are you really calm?"

"Yes." Ray opened his eyes, ignoring the painful sting of his right cheek. "I am."

"Good. Let's go through this calmly. We'll go back to the safehouse, get Percy and Grover, separate from Sally and Gabriel, then go to ca-"

"_REEEEEEET!_"

The squeal echoed through the park. When Ray looked up, he saw a bright pink, giant pig with equally bright pink wings, flying through the air. It flew to the east, completely ignoring them.

Ray started breathing quickly again.

~0~

A/N : Sorry if anything seemed wrong. I haven't wrote anything properly for weeks (that plot thing was just scribbles with arrows and shit on my book) so I'm afraid I've lost my touch. Please review.


	13. Killing Kamikaze Blimps 101 with Sally J

A/N : I'm back again, boyos. I saw some people favoriting this previously dead story, but I'm not someone who would question Providence. To all of you, you have my thanks.

Disclaimer : I own nothing.

~0~

_Killing Kamikaze Blimps 101 with Sally Jackson_

~0~

Mom was upset, Percy knew. But like she usually did whenever she was upset, mom hid her feelings with a smile. Or in this case, with a bone-crushing hug.

He was always fine with hugs and kisses from mom, but being exposed to such a thing in front of a friend was a big no-no. Even though Grover was his best friend, it always felt awkward when your parents did something embarrassing in front of your friend.

Still, he couldn't find it in him to reject her. He could tell she was extremely worried, which made his previous thoughts of not trusting her made him feel even more like a jerk. She was his mom, darn it.

"Mom," he muttered, face burning. "Not cool."

Grover's muffled snickers didn't help his pride. Behind mom, he could see Gabe smiling, but the guy still looked worried about something. Well, considering their situation, it was hard _not _to be worried at everything.

"Shush, honey," mom muttered back right next to his ear. "Just a few more seconds."

A few seconds passed. Mom made no move to release him. "Mom!"

Chuckling, mom pulled back, but her hands only moved to cup his cheeks. Her brown eyes shone with worry, her eyes crinkling a bit. "I'm sorry, Percy. I just missed you."

How could she made it harder for him to be annoyed at her? "It's... it's okay, mom. Just not too much."

She smiled, and finally lowered her hands. She looked around, eyeing the various things in (what he guessed as) the living room. "So... will anyone start telling me where we are?"

Gabe cleared his throat and stepped forward. "Well, firstly, Ray wanted me to tell you he apologized for knocking you out, and apologized again for not be able to personally apologize."

Mom sighed, sitting down on a couch and massaging her temples. Percy decided to follow, and sat down next to her, with Grover then copying him."I just hope that he'll be fine enough so he can 'personally apologize' to me later. Also, why are you so formal?"

Gabe also sat down, on the couch across mom's. He pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and waved it around. "Because Ray wrote the speech. I honestly think the kid spent too much time hanging around government officials. Answering your first question, this is a safehouse. Well, one of them, I think."

He didn't actually quite know how long time had passed since he left Gabe alone, but a glance to the window and he saw the sky slowly turned to night. Pinpricks of light from other building and lamp posts started to turn on, even though the sky hadn't nearly reached dark yet, only orange as the sky was sinking. Did Gabe eat anything weird from the fridge or something?

What the heck was Gabe talking about? Ray worked for the _government_? What? The Keepers is a government-created group? Was Ray seriously a _secret government _agent? But Ray was still young!

Mom apparently had the same train of thought as his. "What? What do you mean?"

Gabe shrugged. "I dunno, Ray wrote it, remember? Anyway, we're here because of a-" he glanced at the paper-"quote-on-quote, 'rogue government project'. Due to a mistake in its programming, it now targets Ray, so for our safety, he put us here."

What.

"What." Mom had a deadpan look.

Gabe shrugged again, and rolled the paper into a ball. "Again, Ray's words not mine. Speaking of, man, you gotta see that thing. That project whatever, looked awesome as all hell. I don't know what's going on in military headquarters, but it was like science fiction brought to life."

When Gabe threw the paper ball to a bin in the corner of the room, Percy turned to Grover. Grover also looked confused. Percy mouthed, 'Government what?'

Grover shook his head, also having no clue. Was this real, or another lie Ray conjured up? If this was a lie, then who was he lying to? Mom already knew about whatever it was (Percy thought), Grover worked together with Percival so he also knew about what it was, and he himself had a vague idea of what was happening. Was Ray... lying to Gabe, then?

"Is this place really safe?" mom asked, worried.

"From people? Yeah," Gabe said, "For some reason, only Percy can open the doors and windows. But from a giant robot? I honestly have no idea."

Giant robot? Was Gabe... drunk? But Gabe never touched alcohol ever since Ray forbid any sort of alcohol in the apartment several years ago.

"Grover?" he whispered to his friend. "What's wrong with Gabe?"

"Oh, uh." Grover fumbled for an answer. "You know how... 'people' like me get out in the world to search for people like you? Well, people like you are different from people like Gabe. They can't see things like you do, they only see things that fits their perceptive. I think Ray wrote that project thing so Gabe could see it as a project thing, to not make him panic too much."

So... the only normal human in this room was Gabe? That actually sounded weird.

"Honey?"

Percy looked up at his mom. She looked like she was thinking about something, and she was worried about it. Like him, she had also glanced outside, and whatever she saw outside (he didn't see anything weird) made her frown dip even further.

"I think we should-"

_Krieeet!_

Mom froze. She whipped her head around and looked outside the window again, where the sound came from, but now with twice the focus.

What was that sound? Following her, Percy also looked out. In the corner of his eyes, he could see Grover nervously clasping his hands together and Gabe narrowing his eyes at the door while reaching the back of his shirt.

Earlier, he saw the lamp posts lighting up. But now, on the other side of the road, one of them was gone, and he only saw sparks of electricity and torn cables on the sidewalk. A huge shadow loomed over it, and by its leg was the bent shape of the missing lamp post, dead.

Mom gripped his hand so hard it would probably leave a mark later. Her breathing became faster, and her eyes were just locked at the giant figure.

At first, the shadow just stood there, unmoving. Percy looked closer, and noticed that the head- which casted a weird shape as if a towel was thrown on his head- kept turning left and right, with something long that suspiciously looked _a lot _like a snout raised high. Was he... searching for them?

Mom slowly turned to Gabe, and in a deathly serious voice, ordered, "Gabriel, please turn off the lights."

Gabe nodded worldlessly, and reached for the switch. When the room went dark, Percy felt Grover inching closer to him and mom's grip became tighter. The only sound in that room was their silenced breathing, and his own rapidly beating heart. They watched as the shadowy figure's head stopped moving, and the snout-like thing pointed right at their window.

Then, the huge monster (because at this point it was obvious who he was) took a step forward. The area was empty, so he could freely dance around in the middle of the road if he wanted to. Unfortunately, buff monster over here didn't have any plans on doing so.

"Percy, are there any back door in here?" Mom whispered, but she didn't look away from the lumbering monster.

He didn't remember seeing any doors, but then again, he wasn't really interested in finding out about back doors. "I-I don't know."

"This is a safehouse, right?" Mom whispered again, but now it seemed mostly to herself. "Ray wouldn't build a safehouse with just one exit.

Before he could mull over on what she had sad, mom quickly and carefully pulled him away from the couch and led him deeper into the apartment. Grover followed them, with Gabe being the last, pulling out something from the back of his shirt. If it was another weapon made out of bronze, he wouldn't be surprised.

After buff snout monster crossed the road, he bumped his head to a lamp post. He immediately bellowed in anger, which honestly sounded like a mix between a burp, a moo, and a roar, and easily tore said innocent lamp post from its post on the sidewalk and hurled it away. Then, there was a muffled crash in the distance.

Percy could hear Gabe cursing quietly and furiously after they saw the display. Mom had paused, and fumbled with the door to- he never thought he would get the chance to say this- the weapon room. He stepped forward, and pressed his palm on the door.

Like before, a tiny M symbol on the door glowed a dark blue, and with a simple '_click!_', it was opened. Mom probably gave him an odd look, but since the room was dark, he couldn't see it.

She pushed him and Grover into the room, before entering the room herself, and finally Gabe at the back, eyes never leaving the front door. When the weapon room's light illuminated their faces, he could see Gabe was in fact holding a bronze handgun. Huh. He never knew Gabe learned how to use a gun.

Mom had paused when she saw the contents of the room, but she pushed forward. Right after Gabe completely entered the room, the door closed again, leaving a glimpse of the monster right next to the window, sniffing it.

Mom whirled in on him. "Percy, can you try searching for any secret passage? Your brother wouldn't make a safehouse without a secret exit, and I think it's pretty obvious that you're the only one who can access it."

In response, he furrowed his eyebrows at her. "How did you know about that?"

"Mother's intuition," mom said, almost dryly but she never did use sarcasm on him or Ray. "Please honey, I don't think we have plenty of time."

He wanted to argue more since the only plan he had was just to touch random things in the room just to see what would happen, but a muffled crash and several explosions from the front side of the apartment won him over. Everyone scrambled as far as they could from the door.

Gabe saw one of the bigger guns and immediately took it from its stand. Grover hid next to him, holding a mace- smaller than he thought, but maybe that was the point. Mom didn't want to join in on the fun, merely looking at the door with a grimace.

And in other news, he was stuck searching for a hidden door.

Speaking of.

"I can't-" he slammed his palm to a part of the wall- "find it-" he pressed another empty part of the wall- "anywhere!"

"Try the floors!" Grover whispered.

He groaned, but still he ended feeling around the floors. Darn it, if Ray built this thing for people like him, why on earth would he hide a secret exit _made for people like him?_

"Just find an M!" Grover looked more panicked as the sound of an angry and pained bellow became closer.

"Can you at least help me find it?!"

And that was how both of them ended up groping the floor. He made some useless observation, like how the floors were actually quite clean as if no one had walked on it for days. But still no M.

A crash from the living room, and another bellow. He couldn't see what was happening in there, but he would bet that the monster was sniffing around, looking for them- or maybe specifically him.

That thought made him search more ferociously. The monster banged on the walls, and the walls clanged, so apparently the inner walls were metal and not concrete. With each bang, he could feel his irritation and fear rising more and more.

"God darn it! We need a secret door! Where is the-"

_Vooom. _There was suddenly a loud humming noise from behind turned around and saw a part of the weapons display- spears- right behind him which had lines that glowed blue, forming a huge rectangular shape with another glowing blue M in the middle. A long panel appeared, then the row of spears entered it, and after it closed, the rectangular part just lowered itself into the floor, revealing a hidden ladder behind it, going down.

Grover threw his mace aside. "Found the secret door! Let's go!"

Percy whipped around. "Mom!"

"You go first, Percy," Mom told him. She tried not to look afraid for his sake, but the shaking was a dead giveaway. "He doesn't want us, he's after you. Just go."

"I'm not leaving you behind!"

And then, in a tone he never thought she would use, she retorted, "You have to! If he gets you, he won't show you mercy! We're mortals, Percy, monsters like him leave us alone."

Mortals? "What? What do you mean-"

A huge, meaty brown hand tore through the weapon room door, and the moment it did, the door exploded in bright blue light, blinding him and throwing him back. The back of his head hit something hard, and he blacked out.

~0~

A diversion. How in the name of all that is holy could he not see the obvious? The Calydonian boar was a mere distraction- now, he lost contact with the John Jay Park safehouse, and who knew what could have done that!

Godsdammit, Ray thought he was ready! He thought he was now a legitimate demigod, a proper monster-slayer! He thought he was good enough to keep Percy in a save environment, no matter which environment he would be in!

To make matters ten times godsdamned better, there was no sign of Percy using Anaklusmos, so either his brother wasn't in danger and the monsters hadn't reached that safehouse yet (which is good), or he didn't have the chance to use the blade (which is a nightmare).

He wanted to bang his head on the dashboard, but he would need his- admittedly useless- brain for later. Though he had to give Stalker credit, who had settled down on his lap and closed his eyes as if asleep, which made that act of banging harder. The only thing he could do was hope that he wouldn't be late, and he dearly prayed to any divine being listening and/or seeing that he wouldn't find corpses at the safehouse.

He shuddered- the very idea was making him sick.

His distress was obvious even to Percival, who never strayed his eyes away from the street as they broke at least a dozen or more road safety laws. "Calm down, Jackson. Do not blame yourself, the distraction caught us all off guard."

"So what, you want me to blame all of you instead?" he dryly replied.

"Do that and I will cancel your mozarella order." Percival warned. "If you were too daft to understand, I meant nobody is to be blamed, we simply fell into enemy hands."

"But I should've done better, leave either you or Alexa with them! Leaving them defenseless and alone is the equivalent of throwing a guy wearing a meat suit to a cage of hungry lions!"

"Must I repeat myself? The safehouse has been safety checked several times last week, and was just last checked yesterday," Percival said, "And, per your orders, I gave Ugliano a bronze gun before we left. Besides, you're giving Percy too little credit. He won against that first monster, his biology teacher, no? Your mother also knows the steps she must take if a monster was to approach them. Again, you are thinking irrationally. Calm. Down."

Percival was right, of course. The guy was always right. Ray was thinking irrationally, illogically. All evidence indicated that even if the other group was attacked, they were capable of handling the problem themselves. Not perfectly, but still capable.

In the end, he just sighed. "I'd feel so much better if we can shoot that pig down."

"You and me both." Alexa chuckled, the first time she spoke ever since they entered the Phantom. Sophia still hadn't said anything, and a glance to the rear view mirror informed him it was due to him losing his temper. Damn, needed to fix that soon. "I never knew something like that existed in Greek history. What the hell is that, anyway?"

"The Clazmonian Sow," Percival muttered, glancing up at the bright pink unidentified to mortals flying object (UMFO) in the sky. "She used to terrorrize Greek villages back in the days. To make matters better, the documents on Olympus never said there was a hero who ever brought her down."

Ray could feel Alexa's grin as she stated, "Then we'll be the first ones to bring her down."

"It will be difficult, no doubt," Percival said, "She's fast, she's powerful, I can see green smoke blowing out of her nostrils- she has poisonous breath. And, she can fly."

"Why so glum, Percival?" Alexa put her arms around Percival's neck, along with the seat, grinning like the Cheshire cat. "We just killed the Calydonian boar, didn't we? And that thing was ten times more terrifying than this little flying piggie."

"Looks can be decieving, though I agree on you assessment on the boar's intimidation factor. And Clayton, I'm you want us to crash to another vehicle, I suggest you take your hands off me."

Her grin became wider. "Nah."

"Alexa, I don't know about you but I don't want us to crash and burn. Leave him be." Ray ordered.

She pouted. Wasn't she sixteen at the moment? Regardless, she pulled her arms back. "You're no fun."

"Aye, whatever you say. Drive faster Percival, lest I start thinking irrationally again and piss you off."

Percival did drive faster after his warning, making Stalker shift on his lap a bit. Ray ignored the bird. He would have to trick the NYPD again because of this, and he had no pleasure in doing so. The cops had their job and they had theirs. This was also why they rarely used the RV whenever dealing with cops- sure, he could always use the Mist to cover up the RV, but that didn't always guarantee that no witness ever saw said RV. Unlike stol- _borrowed_ vehicles, which they could always ditch whenever the situation saw fit.

This wasn't the only thing that worried him. Percival's explanation described the Calydonian boar and the Clazmonian sow to be ancient monsters- granted, all monsters all lived before or right the moment humanity began so they were all ancient, but these things were a bit older than the rest. They were more powerful, more terrifying.

And someone or something commanded them at the same time. Whoever they were, they decided to just use the freaking Calydonian boar as a _diversion_. The boar that killed plenty of heroes and made another dozen kill each other in the past before it was killed itself, as a _diversion_.

If this was any other time, Ray would have dismissed this as another powerful entity being either powerful, arrogant, or stupid enough to do this (or a mixture of the three- that had happened). But this was a little bit too deliberate. As if... as if they knew what he was capable of. As if they knew his biological father. Which meant they could also knew who Percy was.

That thought, and the fact that whoever sent the pigs to separate him from Percy had managed to do exactly just that, made him want to bang his head on the dashboard again.

~0~

When he woke up, he was in an car, sitting on the backside seats with Grover beside him. Mom was the one driving, and Gabe sat on the passenger's seat, holding a bronze rifle and eyeing the sideview mirror warily. That was where Gabe caught his eyes, and the guy gave a relieved sigh.

"Oh, thank God," Gabe said, grinning in relief. "Sally, he's awake."

"Percy?" Mom twisted the rear view mirror so she could look at him. Her eyes softened, and Percy could see her relaxing in her seat. "Are you feeling okay, honey? You hit the wall pretty hard..."

Just his luck, his head was throbbing. Percy let out a muffled groan, and he could see beside him Grover wrestling with something. When his best friend handed him whatever it was, he saw that it was a bottle of water.

He held up a hand to get it- his throat was dry as heck. Had he been opening his mouth all the way from the saf-?

He immediately sat up straighter, eyes wide, but the movement brought another wave of dizziness to his head. He didn't really care about all that too, honestly, he cared more about _how on Earth had they managed to escape?_

"Percy!" Grover bleated as he held his shoulder- bleated, because now that he knew what Grover actually was it was hard not to apply this word to him. That bleat made mom and Gabe glance/look at him in panic. "Don't move too fast. Drink it, first."

"I- thanks, but, how did we-?"

"Look, just _drink_ first. I'll explain."

He sighed, but surrendered. Immediately, the dizziness just disappeared, his throbbing reduced to just barely audible thuds like veins. He stared at the bottle. It tasted exactly like normal water, smelled exactly like normal water, and looked exactly like normal water.

"So," Grover said, not seeing his confusion. "That thing attacked the safehouse, right? It attacked the door. Well, apparently, the door was booby trapped. The explosion hurt the monster, and the blast threw you back. I'm guessing you hit the wall of something, because you fainted."

Percy winced. Ouch, that sounded like it hurt a lot.

"Yeah, ouch. At the end of the path, we found this car. There were no keys- heck, there weren't even keyholes. But I thought, hey, Percy could open doors and stuff with his bare hands, right? Why not this?"

He stared at Grover. "You mean...?"

"Yep. I touched your hand to the car and it just unlocked and turned on. Pretty cool, actually."

"You don't say," Gabe said, looking back out again. "The military had some fun, eh? Making weird inventions without telling the whole world."

Maaaybe telling Gabe about monsters being government projects wasn't a good idea on Ray's side. Now the guy was starting to believe in conspiracy theories.

...He couldn't believe he just thought that monsters being alive and real was more logical than these things being rogue government experiments. Well, honestly both sounded stupid and didn't make any sense, but still.

"Okay." Percy took a deep breath. He needed it. "Where are we going now?"

"To camp," mom answered. "These things are after you, Percy, not us. We'll be safe, but you need to go to a special protected place. I'll explain everything there."

"_Reeeet!"_

"Goddammit," Gabe muttered. Mom didn't say anything, though her face soured, and just pressed the pedal harder. Grover just sighed- his friend was scared, but now it was mixed with exasperation. Not that Percy could blame him, it _was _getting annoying to be stopped every few miles.

Gabe peeked through the scope on his rifle, but after a while, he lowered the weapon.

"Weird," he said, frowning. "I don't see anything. But I swear I heard..."

"I heard it too," Grover helpfully added, glancing behind the car. "I... I don't see anything. Is it invisible?"

"_Reeeeeet!"_

It sounded like a pig. Was that giant boar whatever Percival had been chasing escaped? The idea of facing a thunder-breathing giant boar with equally giant tusks diminished his annoyance and filled his stomach with fear. _Impenetrable skin, _he remembered.

Carefully, Percy turned around and looked behind them.

It was already dark. They were on a lone road in the country, which meant they had left New York behind. He still had no clue where they were going, though, but one thing for sure, this camp was nowhere near his home.

And Gabe was right. There was nothing behind them. And yet, Percy had the feeling they were being watched. His hair stood on end, his heart started beating quickly, and something on the back of his head screamed at him that they should be faster and more careful.

"Mom, can we go any faster?" he asked her.

Mom grimaced. "I can try, Percy."

"_Reeeeeet!"_

The car moved faster. Mom kept muttering under her breath, "Please be faster please be faster."

"There!" Gabe shouted with the rifle's scope still on his eye. Instinctively, Percy and Grover turned back as well. "I saw it! It's... what on Earth?"

He could only see its silllhouette, as it was flying with the moon right behind its back. It was huge, long, with four chubby feet and a pair of huge feathery wings. It had the shape of a blimp if said blimp was a living creature with legs and wings.

And a split second later, it dove at them with terrifying speed.

"Mrs. Jackson!" Grover screamed.

Mom took one glance at the rearview mirror, and slammed the brakes. The newest addition to their merry life-and-death situation stomped the road in front of them instead, high-pitchedly reeeeting in annoyance.

When the car's headlights shone on the monster, Percy didn't know what to feel when the monster was revealed to be a giant, bright pink chubby pig with a equally pink wings. It- she? Belched sickly-green gas to the road, then took off again, most definitely circling them for another strike.

Mom took this as a cue to force the car to maximum overdrive, speeding off on the road. Gabe growled, aimed his rifle, and fired. Percy didn't know what happened after the weapon's suppressed shot, but judging by Gabe's frustrated grumble he guessed the bullet missed.

The car was moving so fast, if they were still in the city, a whole unit of cops would be chasing them after they had run over many living and non-living things. As far as his eyes could see, there were only dark trees and grass surrounding them. Only few pinpricks of light in the distance, but he doubted anyone living there would hear them.

And then, it happened. There was a blinding light, a loud crash, and powerful rumble. He remembered feeling weightless, hot, and cold all at the same time.

When his bearings returned, he could feel the seat he was slumped on, the cold air biting his skin, and the blurry view of the driver's seat. He glanced up.

The cold air came from above, and the cold air was accompanied by equally cold water. They came in from the busted roof, where a huge chunk of it was missing, the remaining edges sizzling like they just had been heated in an oven.

When he heard another rumble of thunder, he realized what was going on, and what just happened.

It was storming.

And they were hit by a lightning.

For some weird reason, while they were going at over 100 miles per hour in the night, they were struck. By freaking lightning.

"Ouch," Percy muttered. Ever since Mrs. Grelod attacked him at the museum (that honestly felt like a long time ago), his luck just kept digging a deeper grave. Lucky him.

"Percy." Mom groaned. "Are... are you okay?"

"I'm... I think I'm okay."

When he pulled back his forehead from the front seat, his hand landed on something soft.

"Grover!" Oh crap oh crap oh crap. He was slumped over beside him, and a trail of blood trickling down from his mouth.

What was he supposed to do when his best friend which was half-animal half-guy fainted?! Panicking, Percy shook his friend's shoulder. Even if Grover kept really dangerous and important secret from him, he _never _would want him to die!

And then Grover groaned. "Food..."

Oh thank goodness.

"My head..." Gabe groaned. "What the hell happened?"

"We crashed, I think," mom muttered. She pressed the pedal, and the engine made a dying sound. "And the car's dead. We... we have to run."

"Run? Sally, I don't even know where we're going!"

"The two of us don't, Gabriel!" He... never heard mom raise her voice like that. She was really stressed about this. "Whatever that thing is, it's after Percy. We'll-"

"_Reeeet!_"

"We'll talk about this later!" she snapped again.

Mom and Gabe scrambled out of the car, since thankfully, the lightning didn't veer them off the road and slam them to something or flip them over, so the doors weren't blocked. Percy tried to pull Grover with him, but he wasn't that happy to find out that, surprise, Grover was heavier than he looked.

With a loud grunt, he managed to pull Grover from the car, didn't matter that it made him fall on the road.

_CRASH!_

Shards of metal and glass flew to his face. The sound rattled his ears, making his vision swim. Even though he was temporarily blinded and deafened, he still felt around for flesh like a blind zombie, then pulled with all his strength as he touched (what he really really hoped to be) Grover's arm.

With difficulty, he hauled Grover off his butt and limped both of them from the car.

Then he suddenly felt noxious.

_BANG!_

"Get the hell away from my son you-" Gabe roared curses somewhere in the distance.

He felt Grover suddenly became lighter, and he heard mom beside him, panting. "Are you okay, Percy? Oh honey, I'm so sorry we left you-"

"It's fine!" he cut her off, his vision returning. Mom's hair were plastered to her forehead (there were some cuts there, he furiously noticed), and Gabe stood a bit farther away from them, shooting at the meaty winged zeppelin through his rifle. They were surrounded by some weird green fog- probably toxic, great. "Just help me with Grover!"

The rain pouring down on their head helped nobody (other than the pig), but they were able to get Grover out of the green thing. He could hear the pig wanting to do a kamikaze dive at them again several times, but Gabe always shot her at the right moment to divert her attention.

"We'll have to get its attention somehow..." he heard mom mutter. When she stilled and glanced at him with wide eyes, he realized he wasn'tsupposed to hear it.

"Whoa, what?" he said, bewildered. "Mom, what do you mean 'get its attention somehow'? I'm not leaving you behind in the middle of nowhere, let alone with that!"

"_REEEEET!_"

"You _have _to, honey." Oh no, no no no, he didn't like the look on mom's face. She looked scared and sad. "You're the only one in real danger. It'll just ignore us, it's after you."

He couldn't believe he was hearing this. Mom was offering her own life to save him.

Percy gritted his teeth. Remembering all that Ray ever did, he channeled out as much as authority as his brother in his tone. "Nobody's going to play hero today, mom. We're all going to this camp, safe and sound. I don't care if you ground me, I'll drag you if I have to."

That... sounded exactly like what Ray would've said if he was in this situation. Though of course, Ray wouldn't sound like a squeaky high-pitched twelve-year old.

Mom looked like she wanted to argue, but Gabe beat her to it. He heard them. "Percy's right, Sally. Let's go. If he's not strong enough to drag you, then I will."

"_Reeeeet!_" A wooshing sound- the pig made another dive at them.

"Fine, let's go!"

Gabe shot at the pig again, and she made an annoyed squealing sound as she pulled up quickly. The bullet _didn't seem _like it hurt her, but she clearly didn't like it. Percy just hoped that Gabe had enough ammo to protect them all the way to this camp.

"I'm running out of ammo..." Gabe growled, pulling out another bullet from a box strapped to his belt.

Awesome.

Mom's arms tensed, and she turned to him. "Okay, we can still do this. I learned ab- er, Ray... told me about this military... thing. She has terrible control when she dives, so when she's close, jump to the side. Jump as far as you can, understand?"

"What? Mom, how can you be so sure?"

Her face fell. "I knew this would happen someday, honey. I-I was selfish, wanting to keep you near me."

"Selfish?"

"_Reeet!_" the pig squealed.

To Percy's surprise- turning into fear and anger- mom pulled away from him and picked up a small rock. She turned to him for a second, before hurling the rock as hard as she could to the pig.

And the pig dove at her.

"Sally!" Gabe yelled.

His own cry of 'Mom!' got stuck in his throat, making him choke instead. He stared, wide-eyed, as the pig came nearer and nearer to his mother, and right before she was crushed by a two ton animal, she jumped aside.

The sow squealed in rage and took off in just three seconds, leaving a cloud of dust behind her. Percy's priorities now changed instantly; he dragged Grover with him as he ran at where mom was.

Mom was coughing, waving her hand in front of her face. She was fine, but seeing do her something like that made him want to scream at her.

"Mom!" he screamed anyway. "Are you okay?"

She shakily stood up, still coughing a bit. "Yes, I'm fine honey. Don't stop running!"

Clenching his fists, Percy continued running to where they were headed, mom helping him with Grover again. Gabe covered them, shooting several more bullets before he cursed and shouldered his rifle, pulling out his previous handgun instead.

This was... hard. Mom could just turn around and start throwing rocks at the darn pig and there would be nothing he could do about it. If what mom said was true, then they wouldn't be safe as long as he was still here, since the pig was after him and not them.

His train of thought froze for a second. The pig was only after _him _and not them, which means...

Copying his mother, he quickly detached himself from Grover and ran into the woods. While running, he turned around, picking up a small rock, and hurled it at the pig.

It didn't hit her at all, of course, but it did gain her attention. The sow turned to him, beady eyes glinting in malice.

"You want a piece of me?!" he yelled at her. "Then come and get me you ugly flying pig!"

The sow squealed in rage (probably because of the first word because the rest were just facts), and turned her flying direction to him. He quickly turned on his heel and ran as fast as he could into the trees.

"Percy!" mom shouted somewhere behind him.

He didn't have the time to answer. The trees loomed over him, tall and dark, though they blocked the rain a little bit. He just hoped that the lady pig wouldn't be able to dive through all the trees, and he wouldn't need to run too far otherwise he would get lost.

A wooshing sound. Percy stopped and waited for a second. Then two. When his instincts screamed at him to jump, he did, falling to the wet ground as well. _Boom_! A cloud of dust exploded as the pig crashed through the trees.

But Percy didn't stop running, oh no. As soon as he got up, he continued running, already panting. As far away as he could from his family. He only glanced back for half a second, seeing the trees that had been torn down and a crater on the ground with, an angry winged pig glaring at him in the middle.

Then she took off once more.

As he ran, he tried to remember as much as he could from everything that Ray and Mr. Brunner ever taught him that involved killing a giant flying pig (he was starting to hate that sentence).

And then Percy suddenly remembered something Percival that day. Something along the lines of 'his pen was a tracker, that only activates when in sword form'?

Swiftly, he pulled out a pen and uncapped it, and it grew into a three-foot, insanely-sharp, leaf-shaped, bronze blade in his hand.

He could only hope Percival and the others won't be late.

"Come on!" he yelled, raising his sword.

The pig dove once more, squealing.

Blood pounding in his ears and heart pounding in his chest, he watched the pig as she came closer. The rain doused his hair, threatening to enter his eyes, but he didn't care about the water. The pig broke through the canopy of the trees, and right before those hooves crushed him to paste, he jumped aside.

But she had learned a lesson, and right after he jumped, the sow turned around and kicked him right in the ribs.

It was terrible. It was as if the pig's entire body was made of fat and the only working muscle she trained was that single hoof. He felt like he was punched by freaking Mike Tyson or something, but the boxer was twice as buff and had a grudge against him.

Percy flew through the air, his sword thrown out of his hand. He slammed into a tree, and the impact knocked the breath out of him.

It hurt. And yet, he glared at the pig as she flew up again, something furiously bubbling inside him, welling up like a geyser.

He coughed, and quickly dashed to his sword. His chest hurt like crap, but his rage quenched the pain.

This day went from bearable to bad then worse. Mrs. Grelod turning into a demon he didn't really felt anything other than fear. Being chased by those weird snake monster things also gave him fear. And whatever that thing was back at the safehouse just gave him a fright. But this?

This damned pig gave him more trouble than those previous things combined. His mom got hurt, Grover was unconscious, blood flowing down his chin.

Percy stared as the sow turned around, and dove at him once more. But he wasn't afraid- or he was so afraid at today he had reached his limit.

Now, this pig just pissed him off.

His anger exploding, he yelled, "Come on, you old sot!"

She was fast, he had no time to jump aside, and even if he did, she would just kick him in the ribs again. Without thinking, he jumped _up_.

He could see everything in slow motion. He landed right atop the pig in a sitting position. Quickly, he gripped whatever he could grip so he wouldn't fall, and with all the strength left in him, he swung his sword as hard as he could to her right wing.

_SLASH!_

"_REEEEEET!" _The pig squealed... in pain.

The bright pink wing flopped to the wet ground, dust flowing from where he expected blood would come from.

But he had no time to celebrate. With vengeance, the pig bucked him off like a rodeo bull.

He hit the ground, hard, his sword slipping away again. He grunted in pain- his chest got more... hurter. He glanced at the pig, and saw her rising to her hind hooves, ready to crush him like an ant. Her eyes glinted, very, very angrily.

And then a wooden arrow sprouted from one of said eyes.

"_REEET!" _she squealed again, falling down sideways. It gave him just enough time to scramble as far away as he could from her, snatching his sword as he did.

What just happ-?

"Go, Percy!" a familiar voice shouted from the woods. Mr. Brunner (freaking Mr. Brunner!) wheeled in from the trees, still in his wheelchair and carrying a bow with a quiver full of arrows on his back, and a bag on his lap. "Finish it! Go for the eye!"

And he did. He picked up his sword, and shoved it into the pig's arrow-filled eye as deep as he could. She squealed in pain loudly, thrashing around, her remaining wing flapping around uselessly. He didn't dare pull away, even when the rain started threatening to enter his eyes.

After what felt like hours, the thrashing stopped, and the pig went limp.

Panting, Percy pulled the sword from its eyes. Instead of blood (thankfully- he would've puked if he saw blood after all that without eating), the blade was coated with dust. He turned around, seeing Mr. Brunner. The old teacher was sweating himself- or maybe not, the rain made it hard to see.

"How-?" and the pig exploded into dust. "...how did you-?"

"Shush, lad," Mr. Brunner said, kindly. He was panting a bit himself, putting the bow around him. How on Earth was he able to get this far into the forest- while raining!- on a freaking wheelchair? "I'll answer all your questions, in due time. But you're hurt. We have heal you first."

Percy glanced down. His chest hurt, yes, and there were some bruises here and there, but did he really look that bad? "But-"

"Come on, Percy. Your mother is _very _worried about you."

His eyes widened. Oh god. He'd rather face a dozen flying pigs than face mom after what he did.

"She's going to kill me," he whispered, looking at his hands. The sword didn't turn back into a pen- he thought it was automatic or something.

He could tell Mr. Brunner tried not to smile. "I doubt it, child. Let's go. Oh, and don't forget to cap your sword, we don't want her to faint, do we now?"

~0~

Like Percy expected, mom looked like she wanted to slap him. But after he and Mr. Brunner approached her, she hugged him instead, crying as she did.

He hugged her back, of course. Gabe didn't say anything behind her, but the guy looked very proud, nodding at him silently. Grover had woken up, looking pretty sad, but when he appeared his friend lit up like a Christmas tree.

None of them gave Mr. Brunner a weird look for carrying a bow and arrows.

"So," Gabe said, now grinning, after mom pulled away but not quite letting him go. "Be honest with me. Did you kill that thing?"

"Uh," he said, suddenly feeling hesitant. "No, it wasn't me. I just-"

"Yes, it was him." Mr. Brunner sighed fondly. "Percy here used a sharp rock to stab it right in its weak point! You should've seen it yourself, Mr. Ugliano. It was a sight to behold."

"Holy hell!" Gabe laughed. "That was awesome, kid! Damn, I wish I saw it."

Grover looked amazed. "You... you actually killed it. That't... that's...!"

"Indeed." Mr. Brunner smiled, turning to face mom who still hadn't let go of his arm. "Mrs. Jackson, have Ray been here, by any chance?"

Mom looked up from fussing over a bruise on his arm in surprise. "No, should he be here? Is he okay?"

"Ah. I just came from... 'handling' Yancy, and dinner, and I thought he had picked you up. If that's the case, then... where is he?"

_MOOO!_

That was a familiar voice. The mix between a roar, a yell, and a moo. Mom realized this too, because she gripped his arm tighter, looking at the sound's general direction.

Gabe's smile disappeared. "Oh goddammit."

Mr. Brunner reached into the bag on his lap and threw something at Grover. A reed pipe. "There you go, Grover."

"Thank you, Chi- er, Mr. Brunner!" With newfound determination, Grover shuffled over in front of him and stood there, staring at where the sound came from.

"Wait, let me go too," Percy said, ready to transform his pen again.

"Oh, no you don't." Mr. Brunner gave him a stern look. He readied his bow and pulled out an arrow. "You will sit this one out, my boy. Rest."

He wanted to argue, but mom had pulled him to the other direction. And based on her scared look, if he tried to help his stepfather, his wheelchair-bound Latin teacher, and his half-goat best friend, she would probably get a heart attack.

"I don't want you to do anything stupid, you hear, honey?" mom warned him in a shaky voice. She was really, really scared for him.

"I-" he glanced at the weird group in front of him. "I... I'll try."

She just hugged him again. Right before she was able to pull him even further away, the thing showed up.

It... didn't look as threatening as Percy thought. The monster's entire right arm was gone, and the only thing left of his... left was just the upper arm. Even though the brown furry monster was way buffer than whoever was the buffest man in the world, he was limping, so it reduced the fear factor.

The head, which was a bull's head, had only one horn, the other was snapped. And his eyes were filled with fear as he limped after them.

The minotaur, Percy thought in surprise. This... was actually the first monster he recognized, out of all the things that attacked him since noon.

"Pasiphae's son," mom whispered.

Behind the minotaur, a fancy black sedan emerged from the night. And not just any black sedan, he actually realized which sedan it was.

The car screeched to a halt right next to the minotaur (who tried to limp as far as he could from the it). Two hooded figures got out of it, running at the monster. One stabbed him right in the limping knee with a silver blade, then the other one stabbed the other knee with a double-edged spear. The minotaur fell to his knees, mooing- er, bellowing in pain.

A third one got out of the car, shooting grenades from a grenade launcher. The first two jumped away as the minotaur exploded in bright green flame. The rain didn't seem to affect it at all.

Then, after the flame suddenly disappeared, leaving behind minotaur's charred, green-embered body, a fourth figure walked over to him, jammed a revolver to his forehead, and BANG! The minotaur turned to dust.

It all happened in less than ten seconds.

The fourth one turned around, and looked at Percy, right as a crow got out of the car and landed on his shoulder. But when whoever it was pulled back his hood, the first thing that caught his eyes was the guy's purple eyes.

Mutated purple eyes.

His fear immediately disappeared the moment he saw those familiar, mutated, a bit confused purple eyes. "Ray!"

His older brother's eyes widened. "Percy? Percy?!"

Ray gasped. "Percy!"

In the blink of an eye, Ray had hugged him, shaking like a leaf. "When-when I saw you using the sword I didn't know what I should feel but then I-"

"Ribs!" he gasped. "Ribs!"

"Oh! Oh shoot, sorry! Sophia! Check him over!"

The blonde girl from before appeared, smiling in relief. "Sir yes sir."

~0~

Percy sat on the hood remains of the half-blood only car they rode there in. The rain had stopped, but it was still really cold.

While Sophia checked on his 'wounds'- because really the worst thing on him was probably a broken bone or two, he checked around him. Mom still wouldn't keave his side, like Grover, though his friend tried not to look like he was.

Ray, after hugging him and mom one more time, came over to Mr. Brunner with Percival and discussed something. From their serious faces, it was probably a serious discussion.

At the moment, Percy didn't want to question everything that Ray had told him. He didn't want to question just _who_ _was_ his older brother. The kid that used to sneak in candies into their bedroom with when they were little, who became the guy that easily and calmly put a bullet between the minotaur's eyes.

Not now.

Stalker perched right on top of his head, sitting down. He just didn't have it in him to shoo the little guy away. That other girl, the one with a blue streak on her hair, handed Gabe something, which he looked surprised at.

"So," mom started, looking at Sophia. "You've been doing this... for awhile?"

"Not me, personally," Sophia replied, rubbing a weird green thing on one of his bruises. "I just got recruited last month. But I know Mr. Jackson, Mr. Schneider, and Miss Clayton had been doing this for years. They're really busy."

"...years, huh?" mom muttered, looking at Ray's back.

"Yeah. And-" Sophia froze, staring at a bruise. "...and that was classified information. Oh crap. Please don't tell anyone I told you that."

Mom glanced at her, a bit confused. "Uh, yes. Are you a... some sort of military group or something?"

Sophia still looked panicked, but she calmed down slightly to answer his mom. "I-I can't say for sure ma'am, but we just go out to the city, and anywhere else we deem dangerous, to pick up any half-blood we can find, killing any monsters that show up along the way."

"You... rescue people?" Percy asked.

"Well... maybe the word 'rescue' is too strong. We just find people like you, Percy, and protect them until we reach camp, the only safe place in the world where monsters can't get in."

"That's exactly what rescue means."

Sophia blushed. "I don't know... I just can't say too much. My friends said I get carried away when talking. I don't want to accidentally let something important slip out, like how Mr. Schneider had once got-" she instantly slapped a hand on her mouth, entire face red. "Er, like that."

"Uh... okay. Why do you call Ray Mr. Jackson and stuff?"

"Because he's my boss. And my..." Sophia searched for the word. "Superior. I don't know, I just feel like I should call him with Mister and stuff."

She went silent. Suddenly, she poked at his ribs, and his entire chest burned.

What happened then was Percy imitating the sound of the pig he had killed. He let out a high pitched squeal, which Sophia immediately grew alarmed to.

"I think you have a broken rib..." she muttered quietly. "Hmm... yes, yes definitely a broken rib or two. Hrm..."

"Squawk," Stalker said.

Even though he was suddenly feeling tired, Percy smiled. He couldn't help but miss the bird. The day Ray got home, with a crow on his shoulder was not a day he would forget.

Ray and Percival had finished talking with Mr. Brunner, and the three of them walked over to them. Ray smiled at him, but Percy knew his brother was worried.

"How do you feel, Percy?" Ray asked, sitting down on the road in front of them. Percival didn't do anything, he just stood there and crossed his arms, looking at him silently. Mr. Brunner rifled through his bag, muttering to himself.

Sophia stood up, then went to work at the cuts on mom's forehead, to her surprise.

"I'm fine." He smiled back, even though it hurt to breath. "Tha-"

"Well, actually no, he's not, sir," Sophia butted in. "He has a few broken ribs I believe, but I need to check him more closely at camp."

"Okay then," Ray said. "It'll be awhile until Argus arrives here, so I'm afraid we'll have to make do for now."

"Got it."

Percy sighed. "_Anyway_, that t was epic, Ray. You know, what you just did."

"What? The minotaur thing?" Ray shrugged. "It took four people to bring him down, Percy, and that was because he got hit by a trap. What _you _did, on the other hand, was _extremely _impressive."

"I just killed a giant flying pig, it wasn't a big deal. And besides, Mr. Brunner saved me by stunning her, he should get the credit."

"Nonsense, Percy. It was all you. Here," Mr. Brunner said. He pulled out something from his bag, and handed it to him. It was a feather- a pink feather. "Your spoil of war, if you will. A proof that you killed her."

"Wait..." he looked down at the feather now in his hands. "This is... the pig's?"

"From her wings, yes." Mr. Brunner gave him a smile- a proud smile. "You did cut off one of her wings, did you not?"

Grover stared at him, jaw opened. Sophia looked up, surprised. Even Percival's eyes widened.

"You cut off the sow's wings?" Ray burst out laughing. "That is the coolest thing I heard in months!"

Percy blushed. He wasn't used to being praised a lot like this. "Ray, you're embarrassing me. Besides, what's so great about that pig, anyway?"

"What's so great?" Percival suddenly repeated, bewildered, looking at him. "Percy, the Clazmonian sow which you just killed is an ancient and powerful monster. No one in the recorded history has ever killed her. You're the first one to do since she was born, which was _centuries _ago."

Ray smirked. "In other words, Percival thinks what you did was impressive."

Percival sighed. "Yes, well, that was... somewhat impressive."

Percy stared at them, embarrassed again. "...oh."

"'Oh'?" Grover gave him a weird look. "Just 'oh'? You just managed to do what millions and millions of people hadn't been able to, and the only thing you said is 'oh'?"

"Oh, shut up." He weakly swiped at his best friend with his free arm, face burning like twin suns. His accursed satyr friend just leaned back to dodge.

"But seriously, Percy," Mom interjected, who looked very worried. "How were you able to cut off her wing? Chi- er, Mr. Brunner forbid us from emtering the woods, so we couldn't see what happened."

"Oh. I... jumped on her."

"When did you get the chance?"

"...when it landed?" he thought over it quickly, finding a way to not make mom more worried. A hard task, since Ray was now here as well and he would be as worried as her. "There's a... you know, small window of opportunity. I jumped when she landed, then cut off her wing."

Mom glanced down at the car they were sitting on. It looked as if a two ton concrete just fell on it. "Isn't it dangerous?"

Well, just running away seemed to be as dangerous if not more, so not really. Obviously, he didn't say it out loud, he just shrugged.

"Regardless," Ray said, "That is cool."

Percy hadn't seen his family together like this since Christmas. Ray didn't look like he changed a lot, he just got a little bit taller and his hair got messier. Mom... well, mom never looked like she got older. Seeing them all together like this... made him smile.

Sophia stood up again, smiling brightly. "Done!"

"Thank you, dear." Mom gave her an equally bright smile, that green thing covering the cuts on her forehead.

As Ray muttered something about calling a tow truck for the car wreck, a rumbling engine gained everyone's attention, and they all turned to look. A white van had entered the scene, with some fancy writing on its side which Percy neither had the ability nor the patience to read. On the driver's seat was a guy in a chauffeur oufit with a scarf to cover up his mouth and nose. The guy sounded the horn twice in short beeps.

Ray's smile disappeared, and he stood up, dusting himself off. "Well, I don't want to be the killjoy here, but we really shouldn't stay around for too long, especially in the middle of the country at night."

"Agreed." Mr. Brunner agreed. "The camp isn't that far from here. Mrs. Jackson, if you want, we can-"

"No, no, it's fine." Mom shook her head, also standing up. "It's... I... I want to stay with them a little longer, but I think it's best if I don't. They're not kids anymore, and I have to let them go."

"I beg to differ," Ray calmly said, smiling. "I will be very pleased if I'm pampered like a kid."

"I don't," Percy grumbled, stepping off the broken car's hood.

Mom looked them over fondly. She reached out and ruffled both of their hair. "As much as I want you to stay, you have to do this. I still have my job to do, and so does Gabriel. We'll meet you again when... when will we meet you again?"

"Whenever we want." Ray shrugged. "Well, ideally, after summer is best, but since summer is still a few months away from here..."

Mom tried to hide how pained she was after hearing that, but he still could see it anyway. Without even thinking, he stepped forward and trapped her in a hug. She was surprised, and became even more surprised when Ray also joined in.

"Lemme hug you too," his older brother mumbled. "Mmm."

Mom choked a laugh, and she hugged them back, but not too much- most probably because his broken rib. Ow.

She pulled back first, and smiled lightly. "So, what's the plan, boss?"

Ray's thumb twitched as he pulled away from the group hug. "Please don't call me that, mom. However since you asked..."

He looked around, observing the area. "Percy, Grover, Mr. Brunner, Sophia and myself will to camp with Argus first thing. You need to get that rib of yours checked my li'l man, I don't want you to have internal bleeding on me here."

Percy twitched at the li'l man, but he let Ray continue.

"Mom, you and Gabe rest can go home in the Rolls-Royce. Percival, Alexa, can you two bodyguard me parents?"

Alexa shrugged while Percival... also shrugged.

"With all that set." Ray rubbed his hands together. "Let us go to Camp Half-Blood, little brother!"

~0~

For some reason, after mom and the NY group went first, the camp group left Mr. Brunner. When Percy asked why ("Why the heck did we do that?!"), Ray just smiled and told him not to worry.

At first, he worried a lot for his favorite teacher, but then he remembered Mr. Brunner suddenly appearing during Mrs. Grelod incident and recently giant sow incident, and the last part was in the middle of a freaking forest, so maybe his wheelchair could actually fly or something, and they didn't want to freak Gabe out, because apparently Gabe was the only normal person tonight.

It wasn't that far from this Camp Half-Blood. Still, he didn't know they had to still climb a cliff at their destination. Argus the driver gave him an apologetic look, right as he was parking the van in a nearby garage. As soon as Ray stepped out, Stalker flew up past the cliff, leaving them alone.

Unfortunately, without saying a word, Ray swooped in and carried him on his back like a baby koala.

"Ray!" he yelled, face burning again. "I'm not a kid! I have my dignity!"

"Yes, well, your dignity matters little in the face of internal bleeding due to exercise with broken ribs, so you can kiss your dignity goodbye."

Grover's face as they hiked up the hill made Percy want to kick his best friend's face, which he tried several times, but Grover was too far away for that to happen.

Otherwise, though, the climb was silent. They were all terribly tired and desperately wanted a bed, he could tell. Thankfully, no monster came in to ruin their night, and for that he was incredibly thankful.

Finally, when they reached the top, Percy waited for Ray to let him walk on his own. But Ray had other plans, and started to walk to one of the buildings. It was too dark, he couldn't really see all of them clearly- well, mostly, since there was that one building that freaking glowed silver, but that was probably that inner bleeding thing catching up to him and messing with his head.

"Sir," Sophia said quietly. "Permission to withdraw for the night?"

"Granted. And please stop calling me sir."

She didn't look like she heard the last part, stretching and yawning as she walked over to one of the cabins on the right side. Grover was swaying on his feet- er, hooves, so Ray also silently woke him up and told him it was fine.

Grover glanced at Percy for assurance, and he gave the G-man a thumbs up. Really, the poor kid shouldn't worry too much. And with a bid of goodnight, his best friend trotted over to the woods. Maybe his house was in there, who knows.

And so the only ones left was him and Ray, who he was still trapped on. But he gave up fighting a few minutes ago, he was getting really tired.

Suddenly, Ray stilled.

"Wha?" Percy asked blearily. "Why did we stop? Is somethi-"

"Children!" a raspy voice cackled. "Naughty children snacks for harpies!"

Quickly but carefully, his older brother lowered him and turned around immediately, revolver out. Percy also turned around, cursing at whatever it was attacked them.

But before he could take a good look at it, it was suddenly thrown aside by a bronze spear, and instantly turned to dust.

Ray sighed, calming himself, and lowered his revolver. "Thank you, Thalia, but I have to ask: what are you doing up so late?"

Somebody stepped forward into sight. It was a girl with spiky black hair, around Ray's age. To say that she looked intimidating was an understatement- especially her black leather jacket with the words 'Death to Barbie' with the picture of a barbie head with a spear through its chest.

"Come on, can I bribe you with the fact that I just saved you?" the girl- Thalia, smiled at his older brother.

Ray waited- a method that was annoyingly effective when used against him.

"Okay, okay." Thalia rolled her eyes. "I was out visiting the tree, _dad_. I wasn't sneaking out or anything."

She saw him, still sitting on the grass. "And who's this?"

"Ah. I never told you about him, didn't I? He's Percy, my brother. He's... new."

New? Percy glanced at Ray, but his brother just shook his head, a sign that meant he'd tell him later.

"Your brother, huh... say, how many monsters did you meet today?"

"What?" he stared at her.

"I asked you how many monsters you met today, kid."

"I... I don't know, I didn't count."

"Really? I'm pretty sure monsters that wanted to kill you won't be hard to forget."

"Thalia, please," Ray said. "He got some broken ribs, and I really want him to be checked on by Apollo kids."

"Oh shoot, really?" Thalia gave him an apologetic look. "Sorry- Percy, was it? I didn't know. Well, don't let me hold you back any longer. Goodnight, boyos. And get well soon."

"Goodnight, Thalia," Ray replied. "And be careful. The harpies may overwhelm you if you're not careful."

"Jackson, Jackson, Jackson." Thalia shook her head, picking up her spear which was lodged in the ground, and it suddenly turned into a Mace canister. "You know those freaks won't be able to harm me. Go focus on your brother, I think he's in shock."

Ray immediately turned to him, worry increasing in those eyes, but Percy shook his head. Trying to say that he was fine. The worry didn't disappear, but Ray's alarmed look lessened.

His older brother turned to Thalia again. "Yeah, we should get going. And one last thing, don't call me dad, otherwise I might start asking you to call me _daddy_."

Thalia made a puking sound. She shot him a murderous look. "Screw you, Ray."

Ray didn't say anything, only looking amused. Thalia realised what she said. She turned around and strode into the forest without another word, cursing under her breath as she did.

"Ah, it's so easy to bait her." Ray smiled, but it disappeared as soon as Ray turned to him. "Are you okay? Sorry about that, Percy. Let's go to the infirmary."

Percy didn't fight back when Ray picked him up. He was too tired, and that encounter with Thalia rattled him, even though that girl didn't do anything but throw a spear at a monster.

But he could feel it. The air around Thalia... he couldn't believe he was saying this, but the air around her felt like it was crackling with power. Thalia... whoever Thalia was, she was more powerful than she appeared.

~0~

A/N : Yes, I'm asking for reviews again. Goodbye thanks.


	14. The Great Flood Incident

Back again, I am. Not yet dead, I am. Hmhm. Not yet too exciting, this is. Fights, there aren't.

Grateful for all of you, I am.

**Disclaimer **: I own nothing. I only own my OCs.

~0~

_The Great Flood Incident_

~0~

When Percy woke up, he found Ray sleeping beside him, now inside his ordinary black hoodie and a pair of faded cargo pants, his brother's upper half on his bed and his lower half on a wooden chair beside said bed, all covered by a blanket. He looked around, and noticed that thankfully, nothing was hooked up to him, so that meant his broken bones weren't too serious.

Percy's chest was itchy and cold, and when he lifted his t-shirt, he could see bandages wrapped around him. The room he was in was huge and wood-y, like a fancy cabin in the woods you would see in movies. Nobody was around, and the only sound filling the room were chirps of birds from outside. It was interrupted by the sound of a door opening and closing, then footsteps on the wooden floor.

A girl walked over to his bed, and stared at Ray with a weird expression, not minding him at all. When Percy tried to wake his older brother up (to help her), she turned to him and irritatedly whispered, "Don't do that."

He looked up again, and the first thing that he wondered after analyzing at her more closely, was if she was Percival's sister or something. She was pretty, he supposed. She was around his own age, with lightly tanned skin and a lithe, athletic build. The princess-like curly blonde hair, the grey eyes, and the cold calculating look that seized him the moment he laid his eyes on them.

She _really _looked a lot like Percival.

"He spent the whole night worrying about you, I think he deserves some sleep." The girl eyed him with narrowed eyes. "Ray's usually not like this. Are you somebody important?"

"Um..." She was calculating him, he mentally noted. "No, I don't think so?"

"Whatever." She shook her head. "Can you walk? The healers said you're fine, and Chiron wants to meet you. I don't want to wake Ray up, he looks really tired."

"I think so." Ray spent the whole night just sitting there biting his fingernails in worry was exactly him. His brother shouldn't worry too much, seriously. "It doesn't hurt anymore so I _think_ it's fine."

"C'mon, then." She walked around the bed, and held out a hand, waiting for him. "I'm Annabeth."

"Percy." He grasped her hand, trying not to think about how close they were or how her hand was rougher than he expected. He took an experimental step, wincing and ready for a sharp jolt of pain in his chest, and was pleasantly surprised to feel nothing.

Annabeth noticed his expression. She smirked confidently. "Surprised? Our healers are the best in the world, with the best equipments out there. Fixing a few broken ribs wasn't hard for them."

"I... thanks. Is this the camp thing I'm supposed to be?"

"Give some more respect to this 'camp thing', Percy." Annabeth's smirk disappeared, and she shot a glare at him. "This is the only safe place for us in the entire world, where monsters can't get in. Answering your question, how would I know where you're supposed to be?"

Percy sighed. He had accepted the monsters fact yesterday, but he really wished it was all a weird nightmare. Well, at least mom and Ray were safe, and that was the most important thing. Grover too, he hoped G-man wasn't that hurt.

"Fair enough, I guess." Annabeth waited near the door as he searched for his shoes in the shoe rack. If Ray somehow forgot to put those things in there, he was going to take Ray's instead. "So... who's Chiron?"

"One of the camp directors, the other director is Mr. D. Usually though, Chiron just sees to the activities- he prefers archery over everything else, really."

Wow. A summer camp with archery as an activity. That... didn't sound cheap. "Okay. And why does he want to speak with me?"

Annabeth stared at him like his brain wasn't in its proper position. "Let's see it from his perspective, Percy; You just appeared one night with one of our most important campers, after you killed a monster no one could ever harm for millennia. If you were him, what would you do?"

If she put it that way... Percy finished tying up his shoes and stood up. Still, he had some more questions. "One of your most important camper? Who's that?"

"The guy who brought you here, dumbass. Who else?" Annabeth opened the door and stepped out, not before sending a worried glance at a sleeping Ray. "Let's go, Chiron's supposed to be answering your questions, not me."

"Then lead the way, _princess_," Percy muttered, annoyed. He was just asking some questions, and who could blame him? He was new to this monster business.

Thankfully, Annabeth didn't seem to hear the last part. Shaking his head, he opened the door himself and followed her outside.

And immediately froze.

There were a few reasons for that, honestly. Firstly was just the sight- it was enough to take his breath away. Everything there looked like it was ripped from either history books but polished and just looked better in the eye- freaking Greek architecture with shiny, gleaming marble roofs, a round amphitheater with a huge bonfire in the middle, a circular arena where some people were training with (what really really looked a lot like) weapons, a canoe lake, you name it.

Though, the ultimate reason was the winged horse- a pegasus? Flying through the air right in front of his eyes. He... well, honestly, he felt like he should be more surprised then he was, but after everything that happened yesterday, he doubted anything else would be able to surprise him.

Annabeth didn't even care about the horse and his rider, she just glanced back at him to see if he had got out of the infirmary, then motioned to follow her and strode on ahead, not bothered to wait.

As he jogged to catch up, he was piling up more and more questions in his head. How much did it cost to stay there? Everything looked expensive as heck. And Ray was a camper there? Where did he get the money?

Wait, he was forgetting something. Percy looked around, searching for a tiny black shape, and was glad to see Stalker perching right on the roof of the infirmary, looking right at him. When the crow realized he finally noticed him, Stalker flew down and landed on his shoulder, squawking quietly.

Smiling a bit, he reached Stalker's head with his other hand and petted the crow.

Well, tried to.

"Don't." Annabeth suddenly said, glancing back at him. His hand stilled in the air, and he looked at her questioningly. "If you want to stroke a bird, don't do it like they're mammals. Go from the back of their necks, then up."

Stalker squawked in agreement. Rolling his eyes, Percy reached over the back of Stalker's neck and stroked up. His feathers ruffled and his eyes closed as they walked forward and up, to a large farmhouse overlooking the entire camp.

"Stalker doesn't trust strangers," Annabeth suddenly said as they walked, but not looking at him. "No matter how good of a person you are, the first time he meets you, he won't trust you. So, either the bird on your shoulder isn't Stalker, or you know him, and by extension Ray, in a longer-term than I thought."

"You know, you can ask the question 'Do you know Ray for a long time' right to my face, right?"

"Well?" Annabeth, turned her head to look at him, though she didn't stop walking.

Percy sighed, poking Stalker's beak. "He's my brother, Annabeth. Of course I've known him for a long time."

He almost walked into her when she suddenly stopped walking. Stalker flapped his wings to balance himself on Percy's shoulder, while Percy himself stumbled. Annabeth turned around fully, eyes widening slightly.

He furrowed his eyebrows. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You...?" she muttered, turning back around and purposefully ignoring him. "But he..."

Was it his imagination, or did she sound... hurt? What?

Finally though, she just shook her head and continued up the hill. He could see her shoulder becoming straighter, her stride becoming faster and longer, and her clenching and unclenching fist. He had enough knowledge to know that something was suddenly bothering her.

Was that something he said? Stalker and him shared a look, and he jogged after her once more.

Neither of them said anything as they climbed up the small hill, Percy still trying his best to balance Stalker and stroking him at the same time. Annabeth never said a thing after that, and with a glance, he saw she was looking at the ground, mind clearly elsewhere.

Well, not like he cared. They were strangers, and if she wanted to talk, she would.

With a sudden squawk, Stalker pushed against his shoulder and flew back towards the direction of the infirmary. Percy blinked at that, but shrugged it off as Stalker being Ray's pet and not his.

They finally reached the big farmhouse. It was big and sturdy, with blue and brown paint with a typical white porch you'd expect to see in the countryside. On the porch were several people; a short and chubby guy in a leopard jacket with his back facing them, sitting on the card table, playing with a kid with... familiar curly hair, and another man in a wheelchair. An _old _man in a wheelchair.

"Mr. Brunner!" Percy's eyes widened, and he grinned wildly. "And Grover!"

The old teacher blinked and turned to face him. Grover perked up, and Percy could tell he wanted to run and greet him, but he glanced at the leopard jacket guy, as if in permission, and he got the shooing away motion in return.

"Good morning, Percy," Mr. Brunner said as he and Annabeth approached, smiling. "You finally woke up. And my boy, I'm afraid the name 'Edward Brunner' was merely a pseudonym- my real name is Chiron."

"Cool," Percy replied, not knowing what else to say. "So... this is your real workplace, Mr. Chiron?"

"Just Chiron alone is fine, lad." Just Chiron alone's smile looked more amused. "Yes, I suppose this is my 'real' workplace. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood, Percy."

Chiron looked at leopard guy, Mr. D, as if waiting for something. Mr. D sighed and slouched, then turned around in his seat, looking at Percy lazily. Other than his eyes were bloodshot like Gabe's earlier alcohol-loving days, the guy looked like he would rather be anywhere else than there.

"Oh, I suppose I must say it," Mr. D muttered. "Welcome to Camp Half-Blood, blah blah blah. Just so we're clear, I'm not glad you're here, boy."

"...Cool," Percy said, not knowing what to say again. Just like that, Mr. D returned back to his game and ignored the world.

"You okay, Percy?" Grover asked, part worried and part glad. "Considering what happened yesterday, I'm surprised you don't want to sleep in."

Percy's eye twitched. It hadn't even been thirty minutes since he woke up and two seperate people had asked him if he was okay. Granted, his best friend meant well, but he wasn't a little kid.

"I'm here, aren't I?" he gestured himself. "I'm fine, G-man, don't worry."

"If you're as fine as you say, young man," Mr. D suddenly spoke up, eyes not moving from the cards in his hands. "Then I expect you to be able to play pinochle."

He glanced at Annabeth, who didn't care and just shrugged. "Uh, sorry sir, but I don't know how to."

The director snorted. "Least the boy has manners. Come here, you will learn. Pinochle, along with gladiator and Pac-man, is one of the greatest achievements mankind has made, and I expect youths such as you to know how to play."

Percy eyed the seats. The only one available was across Grover, but it was right next to Mr. D. And, well, to be blunt, Mr. D looked drunk and experiences with drunk Gabe weren't good experiences. But Chiron motioned him to come and sit down, so came and sat down he did.

"I trust you have introduced yourselves?" Chiron asked, raising an eyebrow at Annabeth, who silently nodded in response. "Very well. Annabeth, dear, can you look at Percy's bunk? Cabin Eleven, I believe."

Annabeth nodded. Without even a glance his way, she strode down the porch and back toward the camp's main ground.

Well. Good riddance.

Mr. D dealt the cards, a feat that didn't seem to be affected by his drunkenness, though Grover winced when his cards landed on his pile. Percy didn't feel uneasy by the small paper things, so he gathered them and scooped them up.

"I must say, Percy," Chiron suddenly said, "I'm glad you're still alive. What you did was... unheard of. In all honestly, I'm still processing it all in my mind. The Clazmonian Sow."

Honestly? He was still too.

"Where is the feather, if I may ask?"

"Oh, it's..." he trailed off. Where did he put the feather last night? No, Ray was the one who put it away. Where did his brother left it? Don't tell him Ray lost the feather. "Ray has it."

"I see."

Chiron was still skirting around the matter. Percy felt like he was walking through a minefield, or opening a can of worms. Mrs. Grelod, the giant pigs, those snake chicken things, and lastly that minotaur. Those things were terrifying, and he had a feeling they weren't even a quarter of the weirdness happening.

He copied Ray's method. Waiting. Just waiting. He and Chiron stared at each other until his limbs became restless.

Finally, Chiron took a deep breath. "You want the whole story, Percy?"

"...Yeah."

"Very well. Let me start with the basics, if you will. Have your mother told you anything about your father?"

His father? Not a lot, only that he looked a lot like his father- green eyes, black hair. Ray had no clue either, though maybe he just didn't care. And how the deadbeat was 'lost at sea, but not dead'. Mom was very specific on that choice of words.

And that was exactly what he told Chiron.

"Typical," Mr. D muttered. "Young man, are you bidding or not?"

"Huh?"

Director guy rolled his eyes and explained how you bid in pinochle. Still having no idea how to play the game, Percy just nodded and bid.

"Do you have any idea at all, child? An inkling of who you are?" Chiron pestered further.

"Who I am?"

"I taught you, did I not? Specific knowledge." Chiron gestured at Grover, who blinked. "What Mr. Underwood is. Don't you know where the Minotaur is from? Giant boars?"

"Well..." Satyrs, if he remembered correctly, were from Greek myths. The Minotaur was from Greek, obviously. Though giant boars he had no idea. Maybe several roamed the forests? "I dunno, Greek legends?"

He phrased that last question as a joke- sarcastically (well, mostly), but Chiron nodded as if he just answered the million-dollar question. "Indeed. A minor correction, Percy. They are not legends. The Greek gods, monsters, and other so-called 'myths' and 'legends' aren't myths and legends. They are very real."

Percy paused. His train of thought just stopped, and suddenly did a U-turn then raced back to older memories. The snake he had strangled in his crib when he was little (mom told him she and Ray freaked out a lot), the stalker (not the bird) with a single eye on his forehead in kindergarten, his family teaching and telling him specific stuff.

It... it actually made sense. It felt like a final puzzle piece- or, remembering yesterday's events, the last nail in the coffin. Chiron's confirmation just sealed the deal. So he _wasn't _crazy.

Chiron took this chance to explain in further detail. On the existence of gods, living on Mount Olympus which was exactly right on top of the Empire State Building. The connection between the Western Civilization and Ancient Greece. The weird things that happened in his childhood.

In the middle of all that, he saw Grover timidly took an empty soda can from the table (with Mr. D's, permission), and chewed it. Like, seriously eating it.

In the end, Chiron studied him and stroked his chin. "You're taking this better than I thought you will."

He could only shrug helplessly in response. "It, well, I don't know if it sounds weird, but it actually makes a lot of sense."

"I suppose."

"Isn't _that_ a good thing?" Mr. D drawled sarcastically. Sighing, he waved a hand, and a shiny golden goblet _materialized _out of thin air. Red liquid filled it as he continued, "You won't believe how much kids don't believe us. Really, it was terrible enough to be trapped-"

"Mr. D," Chiron calmly said, "Your restrictions."

Mr. D's right eye twitched as thunder rumbled somewhere in the bright sky. Heaving another heavy sigh, he waved a hand once more, and the goblet was replaced by a can of Diet Coke.

Chiron winked at Percy as if he was sharing a joke. "Old D is forbidden from consuming anything that has alcohol in it."

"Yes, because I was going after a wood nymph that my father is planning to cheat with," Mr. D grumbled. "Where was I? Oh yes. It was terrible enough to be trapped in this boring place, much less with kids who refuse to acknowledge you exist in the first place. 'My punishment,' as my father said. Bah."

"...So," Percy said, staring at the can like it was radioactive, ignoring Mr. D's whining. It looked much like the ones littering the table, and that convinced Percy that the guy didn't forget about his restrictions. "Mr. D... does it stand for anything?"

"Names are powerful things, boy." Mr. D grumbled again, taking a sip. "You would be a fool to just throw it around left and right."

Ignoring him, Percy scoured his head for names beginning from the letter D. Demeter? No wait, a goddess. Di...ana? Another goddess. Wine, leopard, and Grover acting like the director was a superior being.

He focused on Mr. D again. "Are you... Dionysus?"

The mentioned guy took a deep breath, and lowered his can. "And now I get brat who doesn't listen to a word I say. How utterly_ fantastic_."

"You're... a god."

"Hm."

"You?" he really couldn't believe it. Dionysus barely looked better than Gabe in his early days. Shouldn't gods look at least a bit dignified?

Mr. D turned to him slowly, and Percy noticed how his bloodshot blue eyes turned purple- not like Ray's dark purple, but more... brighter. Burning. Only then he realized there were actual purple flames reflected on Dionysus' eyes.

In those eyes, he saw sailors laughing hysterically as every one of them turned to dolphins- nose elongated into snouts, arms becoming flippers- each one at a time. He saw grape vines choking people until they went limp.

Then he saw one of them flickered, and he saw himself choking to death.

Welp. Looked like he pushed his luck a bit too far.

"You want to test me, boy?" the god asked quietly.

"No sir."

"Good. Chiron!" Mr. D immediately turned back to the game, the fire dying quickly. "I believe I won this game."

"No." Chiron disagreed. The teacher revealed his cards. "I believe I do."

Percy waited for the purple flames to light up again, but instead Mr. D just slumped in his seat as if this had happened a lot. Without saying anything, the guy- god- stood up from his seat and shambled his way into the farmhouse.

"Cabin eleven, boy." Mr. D announced loudly from inside. "And mind your manners. The others aren't as merciful as I am."

Grover melted in his seat, showing his extreme stress just being there. Chiron patted his back sympathetically. "There, there, my boy. You did good."

Grover gave him a shaky smile, before dropping his face to the table.

"Let's take a walk, shall we Percy?" Chiron turned to him. "I'll explain more as we go. Mr. Underwood will be like this for a while."

"Is he okay? He doesn't-"

_Z_zzzz_, _came from Grover's head.

Percy was stunned. "Is he... sleeping?"

"He's tired, lad."

"Won't he get in trouble when Mr. D wakes up?"

"He has a good internal alarm for that," Chiron said, amused. "Let us go, child. My legs are becoming more cramped the longer I wait."

"What? But aren't you-"

Percy cut himself off when he saw Chiron put his hands on the wheelchair's sidearms, and pulled himself up. For more than 5 seconds. He was... long.

When Chiron finally finished, Percy was staring at someone who was clearly a centaur, a guy who had the body of a white stallion minus the head waist down, instead of a pair of legs.

"Are you..." he stammered, stunned. "Are you _the _Chiron?"

"I'll explain further on the way, lad."

~0~

Percival was somewhat surprised when he found his sister Annabeth scowling over map plans in their cabin. The girl stared at the piece of paper like it just insulted her mother, and was now planning a way to stab it where it hurt the most. The others were on different sections of the cabin, and unlike her, they weren't planning on stabbing a paper.

"Eleven got on your nerves?" he asked calmly as he strode next to her.

Annabeth's tense stance relaxed a bit when she heard him coming. Cabin Eleven's pranks always seemed to irritate her one way or another- though he had to admit some of them were clever and/or amusing, while some were just plain out of the line.

"No," she answered but still looking at the map. "No, it wasn't cabin Eleven."

"Do you want to tell me the problem or are we playing Twenty Questions?"

She twitched. "No, we don't have to."

The girl finally turned to him, which allowed him to see just how upset she was. Visually, there was nothing different about her, but her eyes were troubled. It looked familiar...

Ah, of course. She found out something.

Percival raised an eyebrow. "I'm assuming this is something I have the ability to explain?"

She twitched again. It almost made him smile. "...Yeah. Percival, be blunt with me. Do you trust me?"

Trust? What did he do which elicited this sort of question from her? Oh well, not like this was a difficult question. "Yes, of course, Annabeth. What makes you ask that?"

Annabeth sighed, closing her eyes. "Why didn't you tell me about Ray's brother?"

Oh. _Oh_. That. "So... you made the assumption- false, I remind you- that I didn't trust you because I didn't tell you about my friend's family business? I thought you were more mature than that, Annabeth."

This time, she winced. It pleasantly surprised him she didn't hide it. "No, sorry, that came out wrong. It's just..."

He waited.

"It's just, well, you never hide anything from me. Ever. I just thought I did something that- I don't know, something that disappointed you."

Never hide... oh Annabeth. If only you knew. "You never did anything which disappointed me. Now, if you mean dislike, there was that one time you ran off into the forest doing who knows what." He admitted. "And the other time you brought in an owl which defecated on my desk, and another one which tore my notes apart. You also didn't listen when I specifically told you that-"

Annabeth looked down. Oh, bloody hell, did he say something wrong? He inwardly grimaced, backpedaling quickly. "Yes, I suppose that was untrue. But you never did anything that made me not trust you. Though, I guess I mean distrust _yourself_ because I will never trust another owl you bring in here ever since one of them-"

She suddenly laughed, looking back up again. "It's fine, I know what you mean. I guess I was pretty childish. I mean, Ray's business is his own, right? I bet he just forgot to tell me about his family."

No, Ray just didn't want the entire camp to know about his family. Not yet, Jackson had told him. But obviously, Percival wasn't going to tell his sister that- Ray was paranoid when it came to his family. "Maybe."

She smiled at him, but a troubled look slowly entered her face. "Wait... did he tell _you _about his family?"

Percival didn't say anything.

Annabeth looked down again. "So he's the one who doesn't trust me."

"It's... complicated, Annabeth." He tried to cheer her up, desperately thinking of anything. "Jackson... he... well, he believes he is a target. He doesn't want to tell anyone out of the Keepers about his family, because he knows he can trust us and we can protect ourselves."

There was also another entirely different reason but telling her that would be a terrible idea.

"Who would target him?" she asked suspiciously.

"Annabeth. The Keepers is a group ordered directly by Lady Athena herself. We have plenty of important- and classified- information. The funds we have aren't a few, either. Logically, Ray is a perfect target to gain all of that."

"Okay, I see your point," Annabeth admitted. "But... I can protect myself."

"Yes indeed, my dear sister," Percival said in an almost sarcastic tone, "But Ray is paranoid when it comes to his family. He believes that there is a spell, a device, or a technique that allows the user to, quote-unquote, 'Rip knowledge right out of the target's mind'. Truthfully? I won't be surprised if such a thing exists."

"Me too," she agreed. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I'm... I'm sorry for being immature. You guys already have many things to worry about, I shouldn't add more problems."

Really now, the only reason Annabeth had the idea of apologizing was just because he was her older half-brother. If he was any other person, he doubted she would do that. Her- _all_ of their hubris as Athena's children made sure of that.

"It is no problem at all," he assured her. "However, I hope you understand. I _am _hiding things from you. I will never hide anything about myself, but there are classified information that I will need permission to disclose."

"Of course! It's fine."

At last, Annabeth was smiling at him again, an act that reminded him of the little girl she was years ago, begging him to bring her to his architect father.

Percival closed his eyes, an idea forming in his mind. "To show there are no hard feelings... Annabeth, give your brother a hug."

The smile disappeared, replaced with uncertainty. "What?"

"Come on..." hiding a smile, he spread his arms. "Don't leave me hanging."

Annabeth glanced around them quickly. Nobody was around. "Percival, I'm not a kid anymore. This is embarrassing."

Percival faked a frown. "So as you're older you don't love me anymore?"

"No that's not what I meant! I mean..." she groaned. "Ugh, fine. Come here."

Inwardly chuckling, Percival wrapped his little sister in a hug. She returned it, and even though she said it was more embarrassing as it got older, she hugged him back tightly.

Whether she liked it or not, in his eyes, she was still his little girl.

After a while, they pulled back. Annabeth was red in the face, flustered as she made sure nobody saw that. Percival just smiled, knowing the only ones who had special treatment from her were just him and Thalia.

"If my calculations are correct," he began, making Annabeth's eyes turn back to him. "Percy and Chiron will soon reach Cabin Eleven. And, I assume Chiron will leave him there as soon as they do. Go back there, and help Ray's brother."

She snorted at the 'calculation'. "Okay, why me?"

"Because Ray trusts you to handle his brother."

Annabeth sighed. But she still walked away to the door.

Percival turned to the map she had been previously glaring at. Before he could pinpoint where exactly did she thought was a mistake in either the material or the geography, her voice made him look up.

"Percival." Annabeth hesitated for a second. "Thanks. For not being disappointed in me."

"That's a stupid idea." Percival looked back down to the map. "That is a blasphemous, ridiculous, flawed, and foolish train of thought. But an understandable one. You never disappoint me."

He knew she smiled at him again (Percival was really lucky he was himself. The girl wouldn't do that a lot if he wasn't), and finally exited the cabin.

Percival shook his head, and focused on the map.

Since Percy was finally at camp, that meant either Ray would relax, or he would be more active more than ever.

Chuckling quietly to himself, he wondered what Ray would do when Percy finally goes to his first quest.

...Bloody hell, what would Jackson do when Percy finally goes to his first quest?

~0~

Ray had an initial moment of panic when he saw an empty bed in front of him. When he realized there was a blanket draped over him, he rationalized that Percy had woken up first, saw him sleeping, then left.

He limped over to the door after getting his shoes on (sleeping on a chair wasn't an ideal position), and was greeted by an old friend, who squawked when he saw him.

"Stalker," Ray greeted. "Good mor... is it morning or noon, bird?"

"Squawk."

"Thought so. Can you guide me to where Percy is?"

Instead of answering, Stalker pointed at the dining pavilion with his talon.

"Food can wait," Ray assured him. "Speaking of, do you know if Percy had gotten his breakfast?"

"Squawk."

"Of course." He had no idea what the bird was talking- er, crowing about. "Just lead me to Percy, would you?"

Stalker's eyes glowed purple, then he took off from the railing he was perching at. Mildly wondering what Stalker was for the hundredth time (it always happened when he asked to crow to find something), Ray followed after him.

As his limp slowly turned into a slightly weird walk, he observed the camp around him. He had rescued a number of demigods he could say he was proud of. Last month the Keepers had escorted 12. And the month before that was 10. Last year they had safely sent around 150 half-bloods to camp, and until now since the year started were 45.

But the camp was still somewhat empty. Most of the campers had friends and family still waiting for them, so only a few decided to be year-rounders. Thalia was nowhere to be seen, so Ray made a mental note to visit her later near the tree. If she wasn't there, he'd ask Stalker instead. He saw Sophia had staggered outside of her cabin, chatting with a cabinmate, towels on their shoulders and other bathroom appliances in their hands.

None of the Ares kids were visible- it wasn't as rowdy as the summer, so he guessed they took this chance to sleep in. Athena's kids were already up and about, some playing sports while most were busy debating each other. The only campers from Apollo he could see were the archers, which meant the healers were inside. Like Ares', Aphrodites were still inside, due to their beauty sleep, he would assume. Charles Beckendorf and two other year-round Hephaestus campers were in their forge, happily banging away.

At last, he reached Hermes' cabin. As more and more kids arrived at the camp, there was less and less room available inside there. He had given a suggestion in the last monthly counselors meeting, to build several new buildings right across the two head cabins, past the fire, but this time for unclaimed campers alone.

Mr. D didn't care, but Ray knew the god would just shrug and say sure. Chiron would need time to think about it, but he did say it wasn't a bad idea. And to put the cherry on top, Ray had given Annabeth the chance to put her architecture knowledge to good use.

Most of the kids in Cabin were still unclaimed, yes, but that didn't mean they didn't have any families. And thus, the remaining few campers there were Alexa, the Stoll twins, and several other unclaimed kids.

At first, Ray thought that Stalker led him there, since maybe Percy was already put there by Chiron, but then the bird swerved and headed to a restroom nearby. He blinked, but then chalked it up as his brother wanting to go to the toilet.

Suspicion started to build up when he noticed a familiar blonde girl standing near the entrance to the girls' bathroom. Annabeth. It wasn't her herself that made him narrow his eyes, but instead the fact that Annabeth was standing with her hands on her face, but the fingers were still wide enough to peek through.

As Ray walked closer, he heard... muffled laughter coming from inside the restroom. Why would people be laughing in there?

Stalker landed on Annabeth's shoulder, making her jolt. She looked at the crow, puzzled, and then looked around. When her eyes landed on Ray, there was a brief moment of panic on her face.

"Good morning, Annabeth," he greeted after he arrived, pretending not to notice. Stalker flew again from Annabeth's shoulder and landed back on his.

"Good morning, Ray." Nice. To her credit, she hid her feelings pretty well. "Why... uh, why are you here?"

For others, the question could very well be thought as confusion. Why on Olympus would he walk across the entire camp to go to the restroom when there was another cleaner one near the infirmary? However, since he had learned the art of reading emotions, he was somewhat confused to notice it was more... anxious.

"I asked Stalker here." He gestured at the bird, who squawked. "To guide me to a new camper I just brought here last night. Have you heard?"

"Oh, yeah, I have." Annabeth nodded. "His name's Percy, right?"

"Yes." She was becoming more and more anxious the longer he spent talking to her, he realized. Was she... hiding something? "Annabeth, have I ever told you I have a brother?"

"No."

The answer was quick, dismissive, and absolute. Hmm... was she lying to him? And her tone was carefully neutral. Interesting. "Well, I just wanted to tell you that I do, in fact, have a brother. I was waiting for him to be old enough so I can bring him to camp, you know, as this life is dangerous and I want him to live normally as long as possible."

"Huh."

Was it just him, or were the laughter becoming louder? "Uh-huh. My brother's name is Percy."

He waited to see her reaction. She refused to look at him. "Are you implying what I think you're implying, Ray?"

"Yup!" he cheerfully said, "The new camper is my brother. I wanted to talk to him one more time before I go to work, but since Stalker led me to a toilet I can only guess he's in the toilet. Are you showing him the camp, by any chance?"

The anxiety and panic returned full force once more, but, once more, she hid it quickly. "Er... yes."

Eh, enough was enough. He wanted to confront her about her blatant hesitation, but he didn't want to antagonize the poor girl. Silently, he walked over to the boys' side of the restroom. He ignored the halted, surprised shout from Annabeth.

Before his hand reached the doorknob, his water sensors blared to life. Stalker was faster- the bird jumped from his shoulder and flew high. As fast as Ray could, he whirled around, grabbed a surprised Annabeth, and shielded her with his body as the restroom behind him exploded in a burst of cold water.

Ray willed the water to make him wet to not make cause any suspicion. When freezing toilet water stopped raining him, he peeked behind him, and saw the Ares campers Clarisse La Rue, Amelia Gascogne, Eleanor Spada, and Lydia Krieg being blasted off by water so powerful they were thrown out of the restroom and into the clearing in front of it.

Oh, godsdammit. Percy was inside, wasn't he?

Lo and behold, his brother staggered outside, perfectly clean and not a drop of water on him at all.

Ray felt Annabeth wriggling out of his hold. She then stood next to him, stunned, looking at the four Ares campers in the mud, then back at Percy.

Clarisse spat out mud. She glared at Percy, eyes blazing with rage. "You are dead, new kid. Imma kill you myself."

"You want more toilet water, Clarisse?" Percy snapped back, even though he was shaking like a twig in the wind. "Shut up."

La Rue almost sent a punch flying, but her sisters were vigilant. They saw Ray standing there, eyes widening, and quickly pulled Clarisse away, flailing as she did, back to Cabin Five. Some other campers either saw or heard the commotion, and came to look closer.

Then it was Percy who realized he was standing there. His little brother's eyes widened as well. Percy quickly glanced back at the restroom, with the girls' side absolutely flooded, complete with still dripping pipes that had been forcefully pulled from the wall, aimed right at the door.

Ray didn't see any of that. He was lost in his own thoughts, thinking rapidly. Had Percy known he was a son of Poseidon? Since when could Percy control water? Was this deliberate, or indeliberate? How much suspicion would this raise?

When everything went silent, Ray realized that everybody there was staring at him, waiting for him to say something. Stalker landed back on his shoulder.

He opened his mouth, then closed it again, thinking of something to say. Finally, he just said, "Well, this isn't how I imagined my morning would end up to be."

Percy furiously pointed at the general direction of Cabin Five. "She started it!"

"Uh-huh. Come with me, Percy." Ray turned around to the gawking kids, gathering his most authoritative tone. "And all of you, back to your training. There is nothing to see here."

Gradually, the year-round campers returned back to whatever they were doing, though most of them pointed at Percy and murmured something about toilet water. Stalker squawked, not caring at all.

Frowning, Ray wondered how much damage control did he have to do. Someone will surely suspect that they were children of Poseidon.

But he wouldn't do anything just yet, he didn't want to be brash. After all. the Keepers will inform him if something goes wrong. For now, the kids had some explaining to do.

He turned to Annabeth. "I expect an explanation from you as well, young lady."

Annabeth sighed.

~0~

Both of them were silent. Percy, perhaps because he thought he was in trouble for blowing the toilet up? Annabeth, well, perhaps because she knew she allowed it to happen.

Kids. Amusing.

Ray led them to the other side of the canoe lake, asking a pair of campers for the time as they walked. The naiads beneath said lake peered curiously when they passed, but didn't do anything else, bar from one waving at Percy (who waved back). The two looked at him questioningly, and he snapped his fingers, coating them in a dome of thick, invisible Mist, so that anything that would be said would remain there, in case of any... dangerous knowledge being spread.

Ray gestured at them. "Do start."

Percy and Annabeth glanced at each other (Ray noted that there was some hostility between them), but they did start explaining.

It was just like he expected. Clarisse the bully, bada bing bada boom. When Percy mentioned that he had no idea why the toilets exploded, Ray almost sighed, somewhat relieved. Annabeth was skeptical about that, but she didn't say anything.

Nothing seemed to point at Percy being found out he was a son of Poseidon, so with a light warning at Annabeth for letting the bullying happen in the first place, she was let go. Besides, Ray wouldn't be at camp 24/7, Percy would need his own reputation to prevent him from being on the shorter end of the stick.

At last, it was only two of them. His younger brother wouldn't look at him in the eyes, stubbornly looking at the ground. Ray was wondering why, until Percy finally spoke up.

"Ray, I'm really sorry about that toilet," he apologized quietly.

"It's really no problem." Ray shrugged, Stalker squawking as his perching spot moved. "That was a filthy restroom anyway, and destruction just makes it easier to change things."

"But isn't it expensive?" Percy asked.

Yes, if they were speaking mortal terms. He knew for a fact that most high-ranking US mortals were greedy pricks, and some plumbers were, unfortunately, no exception. Immortal terms, on the other hand... "No, not really. Don't worry about it, it's fine, really. I just wanted to know how you managed to do that."

"To do what?"

"How you exploded the toilet."

His brother shrugged helplessly. "I don't know how, honest. I was just thinking I didn't want to drink toilet water, and the water just jumped over me."

Based on impulse, then. Good, it could be controlled, Percy only needed guidance and training. Ray was filled with excitement and dread. Excitement, at finally teaching his brother at something he could do actually well in. Dread, for the reason why he'd need to train Percy in the first place.

"Hey Ray?"

"Huh- yeah?"

"I'm hungry."

Did nobody seriously give Percy breakfast? It was already 10, so the dining pavilion was empty, the wood nymphs had better things to do than just hanging around in there. The only good chef they had was Alexa, and knowing her, she was still asleep. If push comes to shove...

Remembering just where exactly did they keep the ingredients, Ray said, "I can try cooking up some breakfast. Would you want that?"

Percy raised his eyebrows. "Don't you have, I don't know, work to do?"

"No, I don't. I was planning to go home yesterday because I don't have work for a couple of days. The others are capable anyway, so whaddya say?"

Mouth curling into a smirk, Percy replied, "You're just gonna give me a stomachache."

Ray gladly took the bait. "Then you'll have to make sacrifices. Choose, boy! Would you rather be hungry, or be full? Pay the cost of greatness!"

Stalker screeched, to increase his dramatics.

Percy grinned. "If the price of greatness is being poisoned, then I refuse, old one. If I wanted to be poisoned, I'd go back home and smell your one-hundred-year-old cheese at the back of the fridge."

"Twelve! They said it's only twelve years old! Why does everyone think it's really old?"

"Are you kidding? It's as old as me!"

Well, when Marcus suddenly barged into his office back at the cave, claiming that an abandoned Hephaestus forged was ripe for the taking somewhere in San Giovanni Branco (and when he meant somewhere _in_ he meant beneath the Brembo river), Ray took this chance to buy a slice of bitto. Bitti were said to be the oldest edible cheese so of course he wanted to eat some.

"I will not stand idly by as you insult my cheese." Ray stood straighter. Stalker flew up and away, already knowing his intent. "You will taste some, young man, and you will _like _it!"

Plans of seeking destiny were postponed as Ray dragged Percy to the dining pavilion, his kid brother laughing as they did. He would use the most delicious cheese from his inventory in camp, and by the gods Percy would be impressed by it!

~0~

**A/N :**

Bloodboooorne! Where big or small it really doesn't matter!

Bloodboooorne! When Yharnam's always filled with slaughter!

Bloodboooorne! At dim workshops where hunters gather!

Bloodboooorne is hoooOOME!

Bloodboooorne! Where nightmares await inside of dungeons!

Bloodboooorne! When Old Ones fight, they'll stomp your bunions!

Bloodboooorne! For the young at heart- and scythe-wielding curmudgeons!

Bloodborne is home!

Please review. I like 'em. I like 'em a lot.


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